Colorado spent the entire 2025 season searching for someone who could replicate the production Shedeur Sanders delivered in Boulder. They never found it. With Shedeur gone to the NFL, the Buffaloes cycled through Kaidon Salter and eventually five-star freshman Julian Lewis, but neither came close to matching the command, efficiency, or output Shedeur provided in 2024.
Advertisement
Colorado finished 3-9, fielded one of the worst defenses in college football, and failed to win a single road game. Offensively, the instability at quarterback defined their collapse, a sharp contrast to what Shedeur is doing now in Cleveland.
Because while Colorado’s quarterbacks faltered, Shedeur has been silencing his detractors in the NFL, putting up gaudy numbers in his first three starts and leading the Cleveland Browns to a Week 12 win over the Las Vegas Raiders. The gap between what Colorado lost and what the Browns now have couldn’t be clearer.
Amid Shedeur’s NFL rise, Coach Prime paid his son a visit — and fans got a behind-the-scenes look into the quarterback’s new home. Walking through the entryway, Deion immediately took note of the immaculate setup:
“I see fresh roses. I see a lot of stuff that’s fresh… You get fresh roses. I see a lot of stuff that’s fresh.”
But the moment that grabbed him came when he spotted a portrait on the wall.
“Dang… Dang… That’s my favorite athlete of all time.” He was talking about Muhammad Ali, an athlete Deion has long called his greatest inspiration. Deion has often said that Ali shaped the way he thinks, speaks, leads, and even manages his money. He previously shared a clip from an old Ali interview where the boxing icon admitted he had overbought luxury cars:
“Yes, but I’m stopping now. I got too many cars. I got six cars, three of them Rolls Royce, which I don’t need… The newness wears off… So I’m just saving money now… every month I’m saving at least 75% of my money.”
Coach Prime captioned it:
“1 of my Heroes @muhammadali giving us Great Advice #CoachPrime.”
The message resonated with Deion so deeply that he once used it to teach Shedeur a lesson when his son wanted to buy a Rolls-Royce. And when Deion met Ali in person, the moment stayed with him forever. To Dan Patrick, he described the experience like a kid meeting Superman.
“This was my guy… We just sat there and conversed… It was so much of a blessing to meet your guy.”
Unlike the old saying “don’t meet your idols,” Deion said, “You meet your guy and he is the guy you wanted to meet… But Ali was Ali.”
Back in Boulder, Deion Sanders closed out a brutal 3-9 campaign, finishing 1-8 in the Big 12 and losing five straight to end the year. The defense gave up 425 yards per game. The offense collapsed without Shedeur. Former OC Pat Shurmur was quietly demoted. Kaidon Salter struggled. Julian Lewis redshirted the finale.
Asked if Colorado’s issues were a “rut,” Sanders didn’t sugarcoat it: “It’s no rut. You’re just not good.”
“You don’t have to go easy on me. I’m a big boy… I know this game like the back of my hand… I’m built for every last bit of it.”
And he promised sweeping changes, “We won’t ever be in this situation again. I promise you that.”
