Head coach Deon Sanders has never shied away from controversy, and he isn't going to start now. Some may question his coaching methods and the way he runs his team, but the one decision people have questioned most of all has been his choice in jersey retirements.
At the Colorado Black and Gold Spring Game, the Buffaloes retired the jerseys of quarterback Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter, sparking a huge debate on the matter. Those who long for Sanders and what he does as a coach praised the decision, but others felt the choice reeked of nepotism and flat-out idiocracy.
However, there is one group of people who just find the decision confusing and also feel others deserved the honor first, and they are the people who are the backbone of the Colorado football program.
Football Alumni.
Colorado alumni criticize timing of Shedeur and Hunter jersey honors
Before Shedeur and Hunter had their jerseys retired, only four former Colorado players had ever has their jerseys retired:
- No. 24 Byron White (1938)
- No. 67 Joe Remig (1953)
- No. 11 Bobby Anderson (1970)
- No. 19 Rashaan Salaam (2017)
There have been many players to run through the Colorado football pipeline, some who have won great awards, others who went on to have very successful NFL careers, and a few even been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. However, many of the players with those accomplishments don't have their named remembered on Folsam Field.
Instead, two players who went 13-12 in their careers at Colorado now forever will be remembered in a Colorado uniform, and something just doesn't quite feel right about it.
After the announcement about Shedeur and Hunter's jersey retirements was made, many former Colorado football alumni came forward to speak out about the matter and simply call a spade a spade. David Ubben with The Athletic reached out to many of the alumni, even some who spoke out about the matter, and found that feathers had been ruffled.
Alumni such as Chad Brown, Darrin Chiaverini, Tyler Pulumbus, and Joel Klatt came out and opened criticizing the move, but not necessarily because of the players who were being recognized, but because there are other players in Colorado football history that deserved the honor first.
"The excitement and the notoriety that Shedeur and Travis have brought to the University of Colorado is unquestioned, but retiring these numbers before recognizing previous great players in CU history needs to be addressed," Chiaverini said on social media.
Chiaverini went on to name players such as quarterback Darrin Hagin, considered as one of the best players to ever wear a Colorado uniform, and even brought Colorado a National Championship in 1990, Eric Bienemy, who has gone on to have a very successful coaching career with multiple Super Bowl titles, Michael Westbrook, who was named an All-American and 2-time First Team All-Big Eight, and many more to even name.
Former players even reached out to Colorado athletic director Rick George to voice their disappointment on the matter, one being Fox Sports Analyst Joel Klatt.
The move to retire the jerseys wasn't necessarily the problem for the alumni, it was more about when it was chosen to be done. Shedeur and Hunter haven't even been drafted to the NFL, and they already have their numbers retired, while someone like Rashaan Salaam, who won the Heisman Trophy in 1994, didn't have his retired till 2017, one year after his passing.
If Deon Sanders isn't careful, the moves he continues to make could really set off the alumni even more, but without his sons at Colorado anymore, it will be interesting to see how things change. Sanders could also suddenly decide to make the move to the NFL at some point based on where Shedeur is drafted, as those rumors have already flown around quite. bit this offseason.