- Pro Football Hall of Famer Ray Lewis addressed the Colorado Buffaloes football team at the invitation of coach Deion Sanders.
- Lewis criticized the team for a perceived lack of brotherhood and camaraderie during their 3-5 season.
- He challenged players on their commitment to studying film and preparing for games.
Colorado football coach Deion Sanders introduced another special guest to his team this week – a fellow Pro Football Hall of Famer who told Colorado players in a team meeting that he saw “no brotherhood” among them as they started the season with a 3-5 record.
The guest was Ray Lewis, the former Baltimore Ravens linebacker who said he was making his first visit to the Boulder campus since 1993, when he was a freshman on a Miami Hurricanes team that beat Colorado 35-29.
“Buffaloes, if you watch it on film, there’s no camaraderie,” Lewis said, as shown Friday, Oct. 31, on the YouTube channel of Sanders’ son Deion Jr. “There’s no brotherhood. You putting on the same uniform, but you walking out with different spirits.”
Ray Lewis asked for a show of hands
Lewis’s speech was part sermon, part critique and part pep talk as the Buffaloes prepare to face Arizona Saturday in a 7 p.m. ET game Saturday at home. At one point Lewis asked for a show of hands from those who silence and put away their phones when they get home so they can “dial in for about two or three hours” to study and prepare themselves as players.
Only three appeared to raise their hands.
“And we say we’re trying to win – how?” Lewis asked. “How do you win? You win by giving up what you think is pleasurable.”
As a player, Lewis said he put his own phone away when he got home every day so he could study the likes of legendary former NFL quarterback Peyton Manning. He gave a colorful example of how no detail was too small to learn.
“And I’m not leaving for six or seven hours, because I want to know what Peyton Manning’s going to do if he got to go (urinate),” Lewis said. “I want to know how bad he got to go (urinate). That’s how much information you got to want to know to be great.”
‘Let’s fix it,’ Ray Lewis tells Colorado players
Lewis is among several football and celebrity quests that Sanders has invited to address his team over the years, including actor Denzel Washington and former NFL receiver Randy Moss.
“Learn your craft and stop letting Colorado Buffaloes be represented off a bunch of individuals,” Lewis told them. “Let’s become a team. Let’s talk more, and let’s find out who hurting in their silent cries. Let’s fix it. Get on the football field and deliver the package that that man (Sanders) expects from each and every one of you.”
Lewis’ visit impressed the Buffs, especially linebacker Martavius French, who couldn’t seem to believe that Lewis shook his hand. French said in a video on Instagram that he might cut off his hand to “frame it” after touching Lewis.
“I’m saving this video, too, and gonna remember this day,” French said.
Colorado needs to win three of its four remaining regular-season games in order to become eligible for a postseason bowl game. The Buffs are 16-17 in three seasons under Sanders after suffering the worst loss of Sanders’ college coaching career last week at Utah.
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com