Buffs star Shedeur Sanders ranked one of top NCAA QB transfers
Jan 17, 2024, 1:42 PM | Updated: 2:01 pm
The CU Buffs and star QB Shedeur Sanders didn’t have the 2024 season they wanted.
After a blistering 3-0 start that captured the college football world, Colorado went 1-8 in its final nine games to finish with a disappointing 4-8 record.
That wasn’t the fault of Sanders though. He had a huge year, throwing for more than 3,000 yards with 27 touchdowns and just three interceptions. He also found the end zone four times with his legs, helping CU put up point totals of 45, 36, 43, 41, 27, 43 and 31 in games throughout the season.
The Buffs offense was fun to watch when it was clicking, but unfortunately the offensive line didn’t do a good enough job protecting Sanders. He took 52 sacks, the most of any QB in the country. Hopefully that won’t be an issue in 2024, as his father, Deion Sanders, has remade the Colorado offensive line this offseason.
But just because the year didn’t finish the way anyone envisioned, doesn’t mean Shedeur isn’t still getting his flowers. On Wednesday, ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg released grades for 50 transfer quarterbacks across college football.
Sanders was one of just three transfer QBs in the country to receive an “A” grade, joining Jordan McCloud from James Madison and Joey Aguilar from Appalachian State.
“(Sanders) showed both production and accuracy in his first FBS season, completing 69.3% of his passes, and eclipsing 200 pass yards in all but one of the full games in which he played. He had seven games with multiple touchdown passes, none with multiple interceptions and avoided a pick in his final four games. San spread the ball around well and showed tremendous toughness behind a flimsy line,” Rittenberg wrote in part.
He goes on to mention that perhaps Sanders held onto the ball a little too long at times and will need to protect himself better moving forward. That’s probably fair in some regards, but it’ll also be nice to see him play behind a competent line.
Coach Prime not only landed a haul of transfers, but the No. 1 offensive tackle in the country out of high school in Jordan Seaton.
2024 is the year for the Buffs and the whole Sanders family. The first season was fun, but the second comes with real expectations. If Sanders earns another “A” grade this time next year, he could be in the running for the Heisman Trophy and a slam dunk first-round NFL Draft selection.
