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The NFL Draft is just over one month away. Several standout college football quarterbacks headline this year’s draft as multiple teams holding early selections try to find their next franchise player.
Sheduer Sanders followed his Pro Football Hall of Fame father Deion Sanders to Colorado. The Buffaloes quarterback helped lift Colorado to an impressive 3-0 start. The losses then began to mount, but Sanders remained productive.
He finished the season with 27 touchdowns against three interceptions and 3,230 passing yards. Sanders threw 40 touchdowns in his final season at Jackson State, where he also played under his dad. Those numbers likely only added to Coach Prime’s confidence in his son’s draft prospects.
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Head coach Deion Sanders of the Colorado Buffaloes talks with quarterback Shedeur Sanders #2 during first half of the NCAAF game against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Mountain America Stadium on October 07, 2023 in Tempe, Arizona. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
“I think he had the ability, but he probably would have been the second quarterback off the board,” Sanders said, per The Athletic.
In just over a month, Sanders and the Buffaloes will take the field for the program’s annual spring game. The scrimmage is scheduled for April 27, a weekend that just happens to coincide with the 2024 draft.
The elder Sanders touted his Hall of Fame resume and his ties to Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank, and even NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell when he presented the argument that his son would have been a first round selection in this year’s draft.
“The only reason I know that, don’t you think I know people in the NFL? I’m sorry, I played for how many years, 14? Got a gold jacket at the crib, I think. I think I know some people. Jerry Jones. Arthur Blank. I know some people in the game. Roger Goodell. So when I speak I’m not just throwing stuff out of my head. I’m throwing stuff based on knowledge. So let’s just get that straight.”
College Football: Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders (2) in action, throws the football vs Arizona at Folsom Field. Boulder, CO 11/11/2023 (Jamie Schwaberow/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)
Sheduer’s strong play this past season did generate a considerable amount of NFL buzz. He previously acknowledged his displeasure with how Colorado closed the season, saying it “didn’t end the right way.”
The Buffaloes finished the 2023 campaign with a 4-8 record, which may have contributed to his decision to return to Boulder for the 2024 season.
In January, Sheduer explained why he decided to continue his college football career. “Y’all know I’m not declaring this year,” he wrote on X, the company formerly known as Twitter. “We got the pieces we need do it big this year.”
Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, front, scrambles to avoid Oregon State defensive lineman Sione Lolohea in the second half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023, in Boulder, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Sanders sat out of last season’s final game due to a back injury. On Wednesday, the Buffaloes head coach and two-time Super Bowl champion gave an update on his son’s health.
“He’s recovered immensely,” Deion said Wednesday. “He’s eight times better, I’m serious, his back, than it was last year, the way he’s feeling.”
The senior signal caller expressed similar positive sentiments about his recovery.
“It took a long time for me to get back 100%,” Shedeur said Wednesday. “The weight room program that I’m doing right now slowly built me up … to where I know I can go out there very confident and do anything, make any throw, make any run. I just feel great now.”
He also shared his drive to be the first quarterback selected in his draft class.
“I’m trying to be the first quarterback off the board. That’s really what it is,” the senior quarteback said. “I respect Caleb, I respect how he plays. He’s a great player. But overall there’s just different tiers of quarterbacks. There’s guys that’s special, there’s guys that’s are good and guys that are OK, game managers. You’ve gotta understand what player you are and what category you fall in. I understood this year wasn’t my year. I didn’t have enough time at this level.”
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Chantz Martin is a sports writer for Fox News Digital.
