In 2022, the Colorado Buffaloes were the worst team in Division I college football, ending the year with a 1-11 record. But there was a light at the end of the tunnel. A neon light, that too. In December of that year, “Neon” Deion Sanders took over as head coach, promising to turn the program around.
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Coach Prime brought many players from Jackson State, including Travis Hunter and his son, QB Shedeur Sanders, to achieve his goal. They improved to 4-8 in 2023 and jumped to 9-4 in 2024. The Buffs were ranked for the first time since 2016, and just the second time since 2002. They also earned a Bowl invite for only the third time since 2016.
It was also their second winning season in two decades. And a lot of the credit for the program’s transformation has rightly been given to Coach Prime and Hunter, the 2024 Heisman Trophy winner. However, some, like former Colorado QB and CFB analyst Joel Klatt, believe Shedeur is getting short shrift here.
“You can give a lot of credit to Deion… you can give a lot of credit to the Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter. But he didn’t have the football in his hands on every single play. You know the reason Colorado improved so drastically, and so quickly? Shedeur Sanders,” Klatt said emphatically.
Sanders, who earned the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year honors in 2024, has definitely been overshadowed by his teammate and his father. The 23-year-old QB not only served as the catalyst for the team’s turnaround but also took some pretty big steps as a player last season.
He improved in every statistical category from 2023 to 2024, except for his interception rate, which rose largely due to his increased passing volume. Klatt naturally loves Sanders’ accuracy (he set an NCAA career record with a 71.8% completion rate at Colorado). And he also praised his creativity in extending plays.
“You know how I feel about him. I believe he can be surgical when he’s protected. He can be a magician when he is not. Not many guys can do that, and he can be productive because of it,” the analyst added.
Shedeur’s strengths as a QB make Klatt think that he is not going to slip and slide down draft boards like many pundits have started to suggest over the past few weeks. The New York Giants need a QB, and they can get a reliable prospect in the Colorado star at No. 3.
“And now, I believe, that he can do the same in the NFL for his next franchise. And I believe that next franchise is going to be the New York Giants,” said Klatt.
The Giants’ interest in Shedeur, however, will be subject to the Aaron Rodgers saga. The 41-year-old QB is “waiting” to see if the Minnesota Vikings will sign him.
If the Vikings pass, he’ll choose between the Giants and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Pittsburgh would seem to be the favorite to land the aging signal-caller.
