Georgia native Julian Lewis (right) hands off to Georgia native Micah Welch during a recent practice.
Going Home: More Than A Third Of The Buffs' Roster Heads Closer To Home This Week
September 01, 2026 | Football
BOULDER — When the Buffs land in Atlanta Tuesday, more than a third of the roster will be closer to home than they've been all camp — 37 players from seven Southern states, including 17 who will look out the window at Georgia itself.
The man leading them there has as much history in that city as any of them — five seasons with the Falcons, parts of four summers in a Braves uniform, a World Series and a highlight reel's worth of memories. And he wants absolutely nothing to do with the nostalgia.
"There's no nostalgia to me. I'm not built like that," Deion "Coach Prime" Sanders said. "If we went back to Fort Myers, Florida, I would be happy — that's my hometown — but it's a game, man, that I want to win very badly. So I don't waste cities. That city had some meaningful moments, but I don't waste cities."
Meaningful moments undersells it. Atlanta didn't create Prime Time — as he has told it many times over the years, the nickname goes all the way back to his high school days in Florida. But Atlanta is where Prime Time went global: an All-Pro cornerback for the Falcons from 1989-93 while moonlighting in the Braves outfield from 1991-94.
It's where, on one October Sunday in 1992, he played a Falcons game in Miami, then boarded a plane and a helicopter to join the Braves for a playoff game in Pittsburgh the same night — the kind of feat, he told reporters at the time, that kids dream about. A week later, he hit .533 in the World Series. No other athlete has ever played in both a Super Bowl and a World Series.
Thirty-plus years later, he's returning with a roster full of players for whom the trip means something entirely different — and for them, sentiment is allowed. Encouraged, even.
"That's the South, man," Coach Prime said. "It's almost like, how prominent has the University of Georgia been in the last decade? Prominent. Alabama, prominent. So it's a bed of talent there, and we've been able to penetrate that bed and grab some great players out of there.
"And they're excited about going home. They're excited about putting on in front of their families. They're excited about a multitude of things, and I'm excited for them."
The 17 Georgians stretch across the depth chart — receivers Kam Perry of Marietta and Carson Westbrook of Ellaville, running back Micah Welch of Milledgeville, defensive linemen Tyler Moore of Locust Grove, Dylan Manuel of Stockbridge and Atlanta's own Sedrick Smith, offensive linemen Bo Hughley of Fairburn and Larry Johnson III of Savannah, among others. And the Southern footprint doesn't stop at the state line: Florida, Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina and Virginia account for 20 more Buffs who will be within a day's drive of home.
And then there's the Carrollton cluster. Quarterback Julian Lewis, brothers Christian and Alex Ward, and running back Bryce Hicks — an Atlanta native who prepped at Carrollton High — all carry ties to the same west Georgia football town, about an hour from Bobby Dodd Stadium.
Lewis is the headliner. The second-year quarterback will take his first snaps of the season in his home state, and his coordinator has noticed exactly how much the geography matters.
"Nobody ever rose to low expectations, so I feel like for Juju, he has high expectations of himself," Marion said. "Obviously, he knows the type of player he can be, the caliber of player that he's been in the past, from the high school level — and then, obviously, going back home. I know he wants this game."
As for the rest of the traveling Georgians, their head coach has issued exactly one piece of homecoming guidance. Make the plays. Enjoy the plays. Just mind the geography of the celebration.
"I just told them, just don't get us a penalty. Like, make it to the sideline and celebrate," Coach Prime said. "I know that's a lot coming from me as a coach, but I never belittled my opponent, and I never got flagged for excessive celebration. Although it may have looked excessive, it wasn't excessive. But I don't mind them celebrating. I want them to have a good time. Just come to our sideline and do whatever dance you want to do, long as it's on our sideline, and I'm good. Do not get us 15."
And when he says the conversation itself is a tell — "when I have conversations like that, that means I already feel like they're gonna make plays" — it's about as close to sentimental as he'll get about this trip.
The city that made him famous will be outside the window, too. He's only looking at the scoreboard.
"We going there for one purpose," Coach Prime said. "That's to win, whether I played there or not."
The man leading them there has as much history in that city as any of them — five seasons with the Falcons, parts of four summers in a Braves uniform, a World Series and a highlight reel's worth of memories. And he wants absolutely nothing to do with the nostalgia.
"There's no nostalgia to me. I'm not built like that," Deion "Coach Prime" Sanders said. "If we went back to Fort Myers, Florida, I would be happy — that's my hometown — but it's a game, man, that I want to win very badly. So I don't waste cities. That city had some meaningful moments, but I don't waste cities."
Meaningful moments undersells it. Atlanta didn't create Prime Time — as he has told it many times over the years, the nickname goes all the way back to his high school days in Florida. But Atlanta is where Prime Time went global: an All-Pro cornerback for the Falcons from 1989-93 while moonlighting in the Braves outfield from 1991-94.
It's where, on one October Sunday in 1992, he played a Falcons game in Miami, then boarded a plane and a helicopter to join the Braves for a playoff game in Pittsburgh the same night — the kind of feat, he told reporters at the time, that kids dream about. A week later, he hit .533 in the World Series. No other athlete has ever played in both a Super Bowl and a World Series.
Thirty-plus years later, he's returning with a roster full of players for whom the trip means something entirely different — and for them, sentiment is allowed. Encouraged, even.
"That's the South, man," Coach Prime said. "It's almost like, how prominent has the University of Georgia been in the last decade? Prominent. Alabama, prominent. So it's a bed of talent there, and we've been able to penetrate that bed and grab some great players out of there.
"And they're excited about going home. They're excited about putting on in front of their families. They're excited about a multitude of things, and I'm excited for them."
The 17 Georgians stretch across the depth chart — receivers Kam Perry of Marietta and Carson Westbrook of Ellaville, running back Micah Welch of Milledgeville, defensive linemen Tyler Moore of Locust Grove, Dylan Manuel of Stockbridge and Atlanta's own Sedrick Smith, offensive linemen Bo Hughley of Fairburn and Larry Johnson III of Savannah, among others. And the Southern footprint doesn't stop at the state line: Florida, Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina and Virginia account for 20 more Buffs who will be within a day's drive of home.
And then there's the Carrollton cluster. Quarterback Julian Lewis, brothers Christian and Alex Ward, and running back Bryce Hicks — an Atlanta native who prepped at Carrollton High — all carry ties to the same west Georgia football town, about an hour from Bobby Dodd Stadium.
Lewis is the headliner. The second-year quarterback will take his first snaps of the season in his home state, and his coordinator has noticed exactly how much the geography matters.
"Nobody ever rose to low expectations, so I feel like for Juju, he has high expectations of himself," Marion said. "Obviously, he knows the type of player he can be, the caliber of player that he's been in the past, from the high school level — and then, obviously, going back home. I know he wants this game."
As for the rest of the traveling Georgians, their head coach has issued exactly one piece of homecoming guidance. Make the plays. Enjoy the plays. Just mind the geography of the celebration.
"I just told them, just don't get us a penalty. Like, make it to the sideline and celebrate," Coach Prime said. "I know that's a lot coming from me as a coach, but I never belittled my opponent, and I never got flagged for excessive celebration. Although it may have looked excessive, it wasn't excessive. But I don't mind them celebrating. I want them to have a good time. Just come to our sideline and do whatever dance you want to do, long as it's on our sideline, and I'm good. Do not get us 15."
And when he says the conversation itself is a tell — "when I have conversations like that, that means I already feel like they're gonna make plays" — it's about as close to sentimental as he'll get about this trip.
The city that made him famous will be outside the window, too. He's only looking at the scoreboard.
"We going there for one purpose," Coach Prime said. "That's to win, whether I played there or not."
Players Mentioned
RB
/ Football
OL
/ Football
OL
/ Football
QB
/ Football
DL
/ Football
DL
/ Football
WR
/ Football
DL
/ Football
WR
/ Football
RB
/ Football
WR
/ FootballWednesday, August 26
Monday, August 24
Monday, August 24
Monday, August 24
