‘Abundantly clear’ star Colorado transfer successfully transitioned to P5

Star Colorado football transfer and the son of Coach Prime, Shedeur Sanders, has made it “abundantly clear” that he can handle the increase in competition from the SWAC (during his Jackson State days) to the Pac-12 according to BuffsBeat’s Brian Schaible.

“For those questioning whether Shedeur could successfully transition from HBCU competition to one of the strongest Pac-12 seasons ever, the answer is abundantly clear,” Schaible prefaced before saying, “He’s not only meeting his FCS performance levels, he’s actually exceeding them. Through five games, Shedeur has a 165.9 quarterback rating.”

Schaible predicted that Sanders would play up to the level of many of his Pac-12 peers under center — most notably USC’s reigning Heisman winner Caleb Williams, Washington’s Michael Penix, and Oregon’s Bo Nix — and finish the season in consideration for college football’s most prestigious award.

“At the rate he’s going, he’ll end the season with over 4,000 yards passing, 35+ touchdowns, and likely a trip to New York for the Heisman Trophy presentation,” Schaible wrote.

Shedeur Sanders nearly leading Colorado football to upset over USC a legacy-defining moment

After being blown out 42-6 by Oregon, Colorado football needed a big response against USC to not take an even bigger loss in the court of public opinion. For three quarters, they didn’t deliver on that.

Then, in the fourth, Sanders brought the Buffs to within one score after playing chicken with the Trojans at the spread. In their final possession, CU actually had a chance to tie the game or take the lead.

That was nothing short of a miracle. Sanders has been miraculous in the fourth quarter all season though; throwing for 582 passing yards and six touchdowns through the first five fourth quarters of the 2023 campaign.

You can never take away from Sanders that his first season in Boulder had major prove-it moments right out of the gate. That element of his legacy is already secured.