Colorado football will never be the same after the losses the Buffs will take this offseason. Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter will be headed to the NFL draft, and it's possible the attention "Prime Time" has garnered over the past two seasons will recede. Viewership was down from 2023 to 2024, and another drop back down to CU's historic average is expected.
Colorado alum Joel Klatt recognizes that. Klatt called their departures the "end of an era" in Boulder.
“From a Colorado perspective, I will just tell you, though, it is a bit of an end of an era with these two incredible players,” said Klatt, per On3. “Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter meant so much to this university in a larger sense but certainly this program.
“What they’ve done on the field has been utterly remarkable, in particular when you’re taking a look at this from where this program was when they stepped in the door. You see, as a player, every one of us wants to leave the place that we came to better than when we found it. And those two guys did that. Not many do, you know. I mean, it’s rare, to be quite honest with you. Everyone wants to – and yet they did.
“They did in such a significant way that, as an alum? I will just tell you, like, I was really thankful for the last two years of getting to witness these two guys, Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter – and all those older players and seniors on that team and what Deion has done with that program. It’s been remarkable. You’ve heard me talk about it a lot.”
If Coach Prime can recruit players as talented as Shedeur and Hunter in the future, CU will be in a good place. That's a tough ask, though.