How could the son of Deion Sanders possibly hurt his draft status after a breakout game? By raising character concerns, of course.
One week after University of Colorado Buffaloes quarterback (and, if you believe his detractors, overrated nepo baby) Shedeur Sanders had a lackluster performance in a 28-10 loss against the University of Nebraska, the coach’s son distinguished himself in a 28-9 thrashing of the Colorado State Rams.
Yes, sure, the Rams are a mediocre team in the Mountain West Conference, while the Buffaloes are in the Power 5 Big 12 Conference. Yes, the Buffaloes have more to prove after a shaky win over a school in the second-tier Football Championship Subdivision in the season opener, and yes, the Rams may be in-state rivals, but they’ve also lost seven straight to the Buffaloes, who have been pretty bad through some of those seasons.
However, they came close enough to beating Coach Prime and Shedeur last season, as Sports Illustrated noted, taking them into double overtime. The quarterback and other Rams players took to social media to say they wanted “revenge” for the loss, as college players are wont to do. This included Rams quarterback Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi and wide receiver Tory Horton.
“They came out with that attitude and thought it was gonna be a cakewalk,” Fowler-Nicolosi said in a video.
He added: “They saw the reports, 27 and a half points, or whatever it was, and they got a rude, rude awakening real quick.”
Colorado State stars Tory Horton and Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi on Colorado:
“We should’ve murdered them guys… this ain’t no Cinderella story. We’re coming for revenge.”
“We’ll see how far Instagram likes get them.”
(via @Romi_Bean)https://t.co/HDaug80nCq pic.twitter.com/dy5Z9ucEpS
— On3 (@On3sports) September 12, 2024
The rude awakening, this time, was for the Rams — who led 3-0 at home after the first quarter, then got outscored 28-6 the rest of the game.
Do you think you should shake hands with a trash-talking opponent?
As for Shedeur Sanders, he was a very solid 36 of 49 for 310 yards passing.
“Great. Darn. Victory,” Deion said after the victory, according to ESPN. “We just wanted it to be decisive.”
He wanted it to be so decisive, in fact, that CBS’ announcers were rather shocked that Shedeur was throwing it with 1:15 left in the fourth quarter and the 28-9 final basically sealed:
CBS announcers Rich Waltz and Ross Tucker couldn’t believe that Deion Sanders still had Shedeur Sanders throwing passes and taking hits while leading by 19 in the final minute of the CU-CSU game. 🏈🎙️ pic.twitter.com/eNsQRY2V0I
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 15, 2024
But Shedeur probably didn’t mind being exposed to injury. In fact, as witnessed after the game, he refused to shake CSU’s Fowler-Nicolosi’s hand and appeared to angrily tell the Rams’ starter, as he walked away, that “you can’t f*** with me!”
WARNING: The following video contains graphic language that some viewers will find offensive.
Shedeur Sanders REFUSED to shake the opposing team’s QB’s hands after beating them last night.
Sanders reportedly then told the opposing QB that he “cannot” f*ck with him.
Sanders immaturity is DEFINITELY a red flag for NFL scouts 😳 pic.twitter.com/gv9SLmpBy2
— NFL Rookie Watch (@NFLRookieWatxh) September 15, 2024
As the account that posted this video noted, “Sanders immaturity is DEFINITELY a red flag for NFL scouts” — which is why this matters.
For instance, take ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. After the Nebraska game, he said that while “Sanders is still my third-ranked QB and could absolutely end up in the mix at the top of the board,” he was “lowering my grade on Sanders a little bit based on what we saw” in the loss.
However, in a CBS Sports’ 2025 mock draft — yes, they already exist — Sanders doesn’t come off the board in the first round, and analyst Chris Trapasso says that very much has to do with attitude questions.
“As for Sanders, as every evaluation is a fluid process in-season, some weeks he looks like a first-round prospect and other weeks he doesn’t,” Trapasso wrote in the mock draft last week.
“But in trying to attempt how the NFL will view him, actions on the sideline in the loss to Nebraska and his press conference afterward won’t help him. He’s not so outrageously talented that clubs will gladly accept distractions from him. Of course, there’s time to right the ship, but if the draft was tomorrow, it wouldn’t surprise me if Sanders did not hear his name called among the first 32 selections.”
And Trapasso has several QBs going both in the high- and mid-first round — the University of Miami’s Cam Ward at No. 2, University of Southern California’s Miller Moss at No. 3, Georgia’s Carson Beck at No. 6, Ole Miss’ Jaxon Dart at No. 14, and LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier at No. 16.
Yes, Kiper can sometimes get some things wrong. If there’s one thing everyone remembers, it’s Indianapolis Colts general manager calling him out during the 1994 draft, saying, “Who in the hell is Mel Kiper, anyway?”
OTD 1994
“Who in the hell is Mel Kiper anyway? My knowledge of him: He’s never ever put on a jock strap, he’s never been a coach, or administrator and all of a sudden he’s an expert.
Kiper has no more credentials than my neighbor, who is a postman that doesn’t have season… pic.twitter.com/EYy9t8spb5— Old Time Football 🏈 (@Ol_TimeFootball) April 24, 2023
Who? Someone who’s … right, at least in this circumstance. Kiper was criticizing the Colts’ draft moves, in particular trading up to go with Nebraska linebacker Trev Alberts with Fresno State quarterback Trent Dilfer on the board. Tobin wanted to stick with the QB he had, veteran journeyman (and now Los Angeles Chargers head coach) John Harbaugh.
Alberts was a bust and Harbaugh, while serviceable enough to get the Colts through to the AFC Championship one year, was not the quarterback Trent Dilfer was. Yes, Dilfer was also a journeyman, but a successful one who started and won a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens and would have filled the role better in Indianapolis, most likely. By 1998, the Colts were 3-13, Tobin was out of a job and they were picking at the top of the draft again — this time, selecting future hall-of-famer Peyton Manning.
In other words, yes, Shedeur Sanders has the talent — and he also has the questions. This is a guy who could make or lose himself millions by how he acts.
He might have lost some money during a loss against Nebraska. And then he also might have lost some more money during a big win against Colorado State. All he had to do was shake it off, shake hands and move on. And he couldn’t.
What does that tell you about Shedeur Sanders? Exactly what it told the people putting together mock drafts already: Talented or not, this guy has maturity issues, and daddy won’t always be on the sideline.
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