Shedeur Sanders’ recruiting pitch to bring talent to Colorado is going as promised
BOULDER, Colo. – Terrell Timmons Jr. was, like so many now, sold on its grandiose vision. The transfer wide receiver was confident Colorado would make a stunning run at the conference title, not only because of the Buffs’ famed coach, but also because of its new quarterback, Shedeur Sanders. Sanders had a direct hand in persuading many key players to take the risk.
“Two is going to get us there,” Timmons said before the start of the season.
A guarantee that could have seemed like a hint of idealism at the time.
But three months later, Colorado is easy to root for at 8-2, No. 16 in the College Football Playoff rankings and in control of its own destiny in the ever-shortening race toward a Big 12 Championship Game appearance. A Colorado win over Kansas on Saturday at Arrowhead Stadium, combined with No. 16 BYU beating No. 21 Arizona State on the road and Utah beating No. 22 Iowa State at home Saturday, would give the Buffaloes a shot at the conference crown . They can also get there with a win, including against Oklahoma State on Black Friday.
Yes, the Buffaloes are led by their effervescent head coach, Deion Sanders, the Heisman Trophy front-runner in two-way rarity Travis Hunter – and their quarterback. Shedeur Sanders is a pretentious lightning rod to some, a famous athlete with a famous father to others, and he has a chance to become the first quarterback selected in next year’s NFL Draft. He has thrown for 3,222 yards and 27 touchdowns and seven interceptions through the first 10 games and is completing 72.9 percent of his passes, which puts him tied for second in the FBS with Ohio State’s Will Howard.
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But to get where they are today, the Buffaloes needed a lot more. Shedeur, teammates say, knew it and that’s why he got to work.
Between the endless series of social media interviews and being one of the most efficient quarterbacks in college football for a second consecutive season, perhaps Shedeur Sanders’ most impressive achievement was his role in helping build this Buffs roster .
His fame also helped lure a likely successor. On Thursday, Colorado secured a commitment from five-star quarterback Julian “JuJu” Lewis, a former USC commitment. During Lewis’ first visit to Boulder this summer, he posed in a Colorado uniform on a gold throne as Shedeur presented him with a set of keys, signifying what he would inherit.
Deion Sanders made no bones about switching schedules when something was wrong. He has cleaned his house at a historic pace. And after a humbling 4-8 season in 2023, Colorado had no choice but to strengthen its offensive line and add to an already talented wide receiver group that featured Hunter, Jimmy Horn Jr. and Omarion Miller. Shedeur Sanders also went into recruiting.
Timmons said Shedeur reached out via social media to gauge interest after Timmons entered the portal from NC State last December.
“I would say 2’s approach is a very pro-mindset,” Timmons said when asked to describe how he now works with him on a daily basis. “He is very detailed in everything he does in the film room, on the field, off the field, everything. He is very intelligent. You can tell he really looks up to Tom Brady just by the way he moves and operates.”
When former Ohio State running back Dallan Hayden was in Boulder for his official visit after entering the portal in April, Hayden said Shedeur wanted to talk to him and explain what this year’s offense would need.
In January, Shedeur came across a tape of former FAU wide receiver LaJohntay Wester, who had entered the portal a few weeks earlier.
“I pulled out his film and was recruiting him myself,” Shedeur said in April. “I pulled it up myself and said, ‘No, we need this guy. This is the man we want, this is the man we need on the field. ”
Like his father, Shedeur talked to Wester about the vision of what it could look like if everything came together in Boulder. In his first year with the Buffaloes, Wester has totaled nine touchdowns and has been one of the most dynamic receivers in the conference. In last week’s 49-24 win over Utah, Wester had a punt return 76 yards for a touchdown.
“He’s just a complete quarterback,” Wester said of Shedeur last month. “I’m glad I’m on his side.”
LaJohntay Wester (10) was a key asset for Colorado this season. (Ron Chenoy / Image Images)
Another new wideout, former Vanderbilt transfer Will Sheppard, caught two touchdowns against Utah. At 6-foot-4, Sheppard is Shedeur’s most physically imposing receiver, an ideal complement to Hunter’s all-around skill and Wester and Horn’s speed.
While the receiving corps got a boost this offseason, Hunter remains Shedeur’s preferred option. Hunter leads the team with 74 receptions, 911 yards receiving and nine receiving touchdowns.
The pair spoke of the chemistry they developed earlier this month on Shedeur’s podcast “2Legendary.”
“You just have to have that brotherly bond, even outside of football,” Hunter said. “If you trust me outside of football, you will of course also trust me on the field.”
For this passing offense to reach its peak, more confidence was needed elsewhere as well. As wonderful as the second year in Boulder was for Shedeur, the first was equally maddening.
Despite being one of the most efficient quarterbacks in the country and having a 27-to-4 touchdown-to-interception ratio, he was also the most sacked quarterback in college football. He was sacked 52 times in 11 starts.
Shedeur called former Indiana right tackle Kahlil Benson after entering the transfer portal last November to introduce himself. That same day, former UTEP guard Justin Mayers entered the transfer portal and had five missed calls from the same number. The man who kept trying? His future quarterback. A few months after signing with Colorado, Mayers posted a video on his own YouTube channel of Colorado’s offensive linemen riding snowmobiles with Shedeur in the mountains above Breckenridge, Colorado.
One of those linemen was former five-star left tackle Jordan Seaton, who jokingly jumped out of his blocking stance deep in the snow as Shedeur laughed nearby. Shedeur, Seaton has said in several interviews, was one of the main reasons he chose the Buffaloes. As the race for Seaton’s signature intensified last December, with other high-profile programs vying for his talent, Shedeur FaceTimed Seaton to show off his expensive diamond necklace, saying, “We can shine together.”
Seaton was a mandatory addition on the blindside for the Buffaloes to keep Sanders afloat. Still, the Buffaloes rank 94th in pressures allowed in 2024 (33.6 percent), only slightly better than last year’s brutal year in which they were 110th (36.7 percent). Shedeur and the line have also allowed 31 sacks through 10 games, which is 17 sacks fewer than this mark a year ago.
Seaton said Shedeur’s desire to dissect defenses from the pocket and not overreact to mistakes has helped him learn as a true freshman left tackle.
“Having a calm quarterback calms me down,” Seaton said last month. “It’s like Mike and Ike with me and Shedeur.”
Clint Trickett knows the range of Shedeur’s magnetism. Trickett, now Georgia Southern’s passing game coordinator, recruited Shedeur as an assistant at Florida Atlantic four years ago. Before joining his father when Sanders took the job at Jackson State in September 2020, Shedeur had committed to FAU.
“You want to have a quarterback who is your main recruiter and who is the driving force, but at the same time you want to have one who makes people want to come play with him, that’s not common,” Trickett said. “Most quarterbacks are all about getting it, but most don’t have the star power to get them in the boat. That makes him special.”
Colorado’s ambitious plan is working.
Still, Shedeur’s approach to leadership has been questioned by some. After Colorado got smoked by Nebraska in Week 2, his postgame comments about being sacked five times compared to none by Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola seemed to some like he was putting the blame on his own offensive line. In September, The AthleticsJim Trotter spoke with two former NFL general managers about how Shedeur’s personality and leadership style could impact how he is perceived during the rigorous draft process.
“People will be a little concerned about that, but it’s about the work ethic,” said a former general manager.
On the first play of the game against Utah last week, Shedeur telegraphed a pass that was intercepted. He responded by going 30 of 40 for 340 yards, three touchdowns and completing 73 percent of his passes. Critical of himself afterward, Shedeur said he needed to “take charge a little more” and that he would apologize for the rest of the offense.
“I can’t put the team in such a situation,” he said. “I’m grateful for the defense. Maybe I should take them out to dinner this week because they saved me and the team.”
His father has routinely said that if Shedeur gets enough protection from his offensive line, he is good enough to win games with his talent. Deion recently said he will “privately” have a hand in the teams that Shedeur and Hunter field. He specifically spoke to Shedeur on FS1’s sports show “Speak.” He wants an organization “that can handle the quarterback that he is.”
The duo walks together on the sidelines before every game as Deion gives advice on his son. “Show them who you are,” he said before the win over Utah.
Shedeur has been known to clap back at those who speak disparagingly about the Buffaloes or flaunt some of his fancy assets – diamond-encrusted watches, cars, you name it – in the general direction of opponents.
Teammates say they don’t see that side of him as a true representation of who he is. They chose to listen to what Shedeur Sanders was pitching because it’s playing out exactly the way he said it could. Or, in his father’s parlance, as it always would.
“You know, he’s all on social media and famous, but he’s really a normal person,” Timmons said. ‘He’s not Hollywood. He’s a normal person, just like you and me. He is just very good at what he does.”
(Top photo: Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)
