Colorado coach Deion Sanders says he’ll do his part to steer his son, quarterback Shedeur Sanders, and Buffaloes’ receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter to better situations in next year’s NFL Draft.
During an appearance on Fox Sports 1’s “Speak,” Deion Sanders was asked by co-host Keyshawn Johnson if he would step in during the draft process if the “wrong” team drafted Shedeur.
“Yeah, but I’m not going to do it publicly. I’ll do it privately,” Sanders said. “I’m gonna be Dad until the cows come home, and with Travis as well.”
Shedeur Sanders and Hunter are both likely first-round picks. The Athletic’s Dane Brugler had Hunter as No. 1 on his latest list of the top 50 NFL Draft prospects. Sanders was No. 23, third among quarterbacks behind Miami’s Cam Ward and Alabama’s Jalen Milroe.
Sanders declined to identify teams he wants Shedeur to play for, but instead pointed to traits he wanted in a team for Shedeur’s next stop.
“Somebody that can handle the quarterback he is and somebody that can handle, understanding what he’s capable of,” Deion Sanders said. “Someone that has had success in the past handling quarterbacks or someone and an organization that understands what they’re doing. Not just throwing you out there amongst the wolves if you don’t have the support and the infrastructure of the team.
“Forget the (offensive) line. He’s played with lines that weren’t great but he’s been able to do his thing. But just the infrastructure of the team and the direction of where we’re going.”
Colorado is 7-2 and ranked 17th in this week’s College Football Playoff rankings. The Buffaloes host Utah on Saturday and are alone in second place in the Big 12, on pace to play for the league title and a spot in the Playoff.
Hunter is atop The Athletic’s Heisman Straw Poll this week.
Sanders has coached his son throughout his football career, from youth leagues to high school and at Jackson State before the duo came to Colorado together after the 2022 season. Sanders also reiterated he was happy to be at Colorado when asked if he would be interested in coaching the Dallas Cowboys, where he played for five seasons.
“Shedeur has started every game in high school, every game in college but one and he is like that, man. He has a true gift. It comes from God and he loves football,” he said. “This kid loves this game and he has an insatiable appetite to win. And I want somebody to be able to propel him to the next level as well, not just get drafted by a team because we ain’t having it.”
Eli Manning, who won two Super Bowls with the New York Giants, famously declared along with his father Archie Manning that Eli would not play for the San Diego Chargers ahead of the 2004 NFL Draft. The Chargers held the No. 1 pick but the Mannings opposed Eli beginning his career there, in part because of how the franchise handled personal problems that arose during Ryan Leaf’s tenure there after being picked No. 2 in 1998. The Chargers drafted Manning but traded him to the New York Giants the same day.
The move echoes one Sanders made during his own draft process in 1989. The Giants asked draft prospects to take a two-hour psychological assessment at the NFL Scouting Combine. Upon learning the Giants had the 18th pick in the draft, Sanders declined to take the assessment.
“I said, ‘I’ll be gone before then. I’ll see y’all later. I ain’t got time for this,’” Sanders recounted in a 2017 interview.
The Atlanta Falcons drafted him fifth overall.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
