ARLINGTON, Texas — Shedeur Sanders’ impact on the East-West Shrine Bowl was felt, even though the University of Colorado quarterback did not practice or take part in anything outside of meetings with quarterback-needy teams at the top of the 2025 NFL Draft.
There was an unusual flood of media to the Shrine Bowl this year, cementing Sanders’ status as one of the best and more fascinating players, a likely top-five pick in this year’s draft class. Long gone are the days of this game being filled with players who would just hope to be considered for a roster spot in the NFL — now there are legitimate prospects, Sanders aside, who want to come and showcase their talents on the field.
While Sanders feels like he has taken a leap on the field recently, there’s also the looming, enormous fact that he has been in the spotlight for a long time largely because of his family. Stepping into the life of a highly drafted quarterback is different from where he’s been, but the idea of fame being new doesn’t apply here. Being the son of NFL legend Deion Sanders has given him a clear answer on how he feels the pressures of being an NFL quarterback.
“I don’t,” Sanders said bluntly to Yahoo Sports. “That’s why the pressure doesn’t faze me. That’s why no situation would ever faze me. That’s why I know I’m the most guaranteed risk you can take.”
Sanders’ background is well-known. He’s the third of Deion Sanders’ sons to play high-level Division I football. Shedeur’s football journey took him from Trinity Christian School in Cedar Hill, Texas, then Jackson State University before ending up at the University of Colorado. His father has been there for every step of his football journey as either a head coach or offensive coordinator, but the NFL will be a different challenge. With the hiring of Brian Schottenheimer as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, instead of Deion Sanders, Shedeur will be taking the first step of his football journey on his own.
That didn’t seem to bother Shedeur when asked about it, which makes sense. He should be confident in his abilities as a Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year and Johnny Unitas Award winner. His father may have played a big role in his life, but ultimately, they’ve seen this through together and have reached the point where Shedeur can fulfill a lifelong dream of being an NFL player.
“I didn’t know that your parents being involved and wanting the best for you was a problem,” Sanders said to reporters at the Shrine Bowl. “The fact he was able to help me become the best quarterback in the country — he’s supposed to do that.”
And Sanders did, unequivocally, become one of the best quarterbacks in college football. At Jackson State, he started 26 games and threw for 6,963 yards, 70 touchdowns, 14 interceptions and had a 23-3 record — and he won the Jerry Rice Award in 2021 as the best player in FCS. At Colorado, the Buffaloes went 13-11 over his two seasons there, but he threw for 7,364 yards, 64 touchdowns and 13 interceptions and was part of turning the program as a whole in the right direction.
The road to get to this point was incredibly manicured, but it’s led him here nonetheless.
As an NFL Draft prospect, Sanders has fairly standard skills for a starting quarterback. He’s hovering around 6-foot-2, has good accuracy and the baseline arm strength needed to be considered a player teams would draft high. There are really only two players who are being considered potential franchise QB talents at the top of the draft this year: Sanders and former Miami quarterback Cam Ward.
“We’re friends, we’re friends,” Sanders said with a smile. “A lot of people in the media try to pit us against each other, but we’re family and friends first and foremost.”
Where those two players separate themselves in the eyes of teams will be one of the more interesting stories in the lead-up to the draft. While Ward can be a bit of a loose cannon on the field with some impressive highs physically, Sanders’ game isn’t quite as explosive, which has allowed him to develop the skills needed to be a top of the line quarterback prospect. Sanders also had the benefit of being coached by former NFL head coach and offensive play-caller Pat Shurmur, who is Colorado’s offensive coordinator.
Sanders gave Shurmur credit for where his game is right now in terms of his understanding of football.
“Coach Shurmur, he was the best thing that could’ve happened to the end of my college career,” Sanders told Yahoo Sports. “The way he went about his business is exactly how it is here, so he’s definitely true to who he is and he’s true to the process and what this league is made of. I’m just thankful for him.”
Even though Shurmur may not have had the most decorated NFL career, his experience is something a lot of college players don’t have access to in college. In terms of specific things that he learned with Shurmur, Sanders said that being able to handle pass protections better compared to earlier in his career has been a big win over the past season.
“He helped me dive into the protections and just cleaning up a lot of stuff with my game,” Sanders said. “That’s why I’m thankful I was able to end my college career with him.”
Sanders clearly has all the confidence in the world needed to take on this new challenge that he’s been training for his whole life for. Now it’s time to execute.
“It’s year by year,” Sanders said. “God will make sure I’m prepared each and every year, each and every year preparing for the next steps for the next things that are coming in life. Everything has happened for a reason and everything has happened for a purpose and I was just thankful that I was able to go through this process with my dad and with my family.”
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