Coach Prime, during a lecture for CU's “Prime Time: Public Performance and Leadership" class, claimed that two Colorado football players, his son Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter, would be the top two picks in the 2025 NFL draft.
“We got, proposedly, the first and second pick of the whole draft, Sheduer and Travis, so every NFL scout is coming, but they’re not just gonna come for that, because I want them to see the smorgasbord of players that we have and the operation that we have,” Sanders said (h/t USA Today).
Hunter's two-way talent is undeniable, and doesn't need to be specifically schemed for, but Shedeur's development is one that Coach Prime shed some light on.
Colorado football not pursuing many underclassmen because of Shedeur Sanders
Coach Prime has a well-known 40-40-20 rule, seeking 40% of transfers, 40% of grad transfers, and only 20% freshmen for his recruiting classes. The reason was made clear during his lecturing debut in Boulder: Shedeur, as a pro style quarterback, needs veteran talent to elevate his game.
“When you inherited a roster like we inherited a roster, you can’t deal with high school kids that much, because it takes them probably a couple of years to develop (and) you’ll be fired in a couple years,” Sanders told the students. “You don’t have that kind of time.
“So what we’d rather do is go get a sophomore in college … that understands the bus stops, understands what time class starts… And we don’t have to worry about them introducing themselves to the collegiate game. Because if you load your roster up with a bunch of freshmen, you’re in for a heckuva season… It’s not gonna be good. And when you have a pro kind of quarterback, you can’t give him youngsters to work with. It’s gonna be chaotic.”
Colorado's 2023 season was certainly chaotic in many ways, but lacking a passing game wasn't one of them. Shedeur was the clear bright spot on the team, and having veteran stars like Xavier Weaver and Jimmy Horn Jr. to throw to undeniably helped him become that.