Colorado football QB Shedeur Sanders believes his game under center is a combination of immobile pass-heavy NFL G.O.A.T. Tom Brady and one of football's all-time dual threats, and the man who inspired a generation of elite athletes at the position, Michael Vick.
"I'm a mixture," Sanders said (h/t Falcon Report). "I'm able to stay in the pocket and want to deliver the ball each and every play like Brady but be able to extend plays and if it's not there, take it like Vick."
Brady is one of Shedeur's mentors. You can see the influence Brady has had on him. Vick put up over 500 rushing yards per season at Virginia Tech. Shedeur went for 174 at Jackson State in 2022 and 103 in 2021 and was sacked so many times -- rarely calling on his own number and scrambling -- he had negative rushing yardage.
The Vick part makes no sense.
Colorado football QB Shedeur Sanders pushing it with Tom Brady comparisons just yet
Shedeur is far ahead of Brady was at this point in his Michigan career. But Shedeur isn't comparing himself to that Brady -- he's talking about TB12, the seven-time Super Bowl winner and five-time Super Bowl MVP.
That's where the comparison runs the risk of mass criticism if your team doesn't win. And while Joel Klatt is hyping these Buffs up as potential Big 12 contenders, but Coach Prime's six-win goal is probably more realistic. Even getting to a bowl game in a Power 4 conference is an achievement for a CU program that's been mostly down in the dumps for the last two decades.
Brady's New England Patriots, and even his Tampa Bay Buccaneers in his mid-40s, always contended for the Super Bowl. Contending for the Texas Bowl or Pop Tarts Bowl is a different story.
The Brady comparisons are at least fair from an on-field perspective, but overusing it could be a fool's errand for Shedeur if wins aren't racked up en masse.