Deion Sanders, given his ties to football in the state of Texas, has already been linked to the vacant head coaching job at Texas A&M. The Colorado head coach is going to be a hot name on the coaching carousel this winter now that teams know he can recruit well, coach players hard, and make strong assistant hires.

When he met with reporters on Tuesday, he was asked what his response would be to the family of a recruit who wanted to know if he’d be around in two or three years.

“I’d tell them what I told them when I came: I’m here,” he said. “I’d tell them my mother’s here. My sister’s here. My dog is here. My daughter’s here. Three of my sons are here. My other daughter comes during every home game. We’re here.

“I get mail here. I pay taxes here.”

Sanders said he’ll always be honest with families. He believes the attention on him and his coaching staff is an indication that people in the know understand something positive is being built at Colorado.

“I love it that football people understand what time it is without looking at their watches.”

Stephen A. Smith said rather emphatically on ESPN’s Get Up Monday morning that a Sanders move to College Station “needs to happen.”

There are roadblocks on any highway out of Boulder for Sanders and his family, though. The biggest one would be what he alluded to on Tuesday — his family.

Sanders is in the process of building something at Colorado. Despite a 4-6 season, he’s optimistic about the future.