Father knows best.
Boulder is a long way from Springfield, but Deion Sanders is making sure plenty of eyes stay on the small screen this year. Sanders' Colorado squad has taken the college football world by storm, with the school sitting at 3-0 heading into some real litmus tests over the next two weeks.
A large part of their success bonanza has been the otherworldly ascent of quarterback Shedeur Sanders, one of two Sanders sons on his Buffaloes team. While Shedeur has been a hot topic and a name to watch concerning the 2024 NFL Draft, dad Deion says not so fast.
DeCOURCY: Deion Sanders sets example for HBCU coaches everywhere
The patriarch of the Sanders family explained why Shedeur may not be a lock to declare for the upcoming draft on a podcast with TNT's Taylor Rooks:
Coach Prime discusses the idea of his son moving on to the NFL 🤔
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 20, 2023
(via @TaylorRooks) pic.twitter.com/S7JOtxJQFH
Coach Prime's explanation:
We don't want to talk about (Shedeur declaring for the 2024 NFL Draft). … It's not what about what I'm seeing from them. It's about a whole lot of other things — teams, position, round projection, all of that plays a role. Because now, with NIL and who they are, shoot, you could make just as much money here as you can there unless you're one of the first five picks.
But Shedeur don't wanna be two to nobody. He don't get down like that. So people projecting him behind Caleb Williams — and Caleb Williams is phenomenal — but Shedeur ain't no backseat driver. He ain't — he drive his Maybach. He don't have a driver in it. He drives it.
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To Sanders' point, NIL has certainly changed the equation for college football stars thinking about making the jump to the next level, though it's still a risky proposition. Injury, fluctuating production and other variables can all hurt draft stock before helping it. It's never a guarantee that a draft stock will rise year-over-year, especially with quarterbacks.
Still, it's a family affair for the Buffs. Shedeur and Shilo Sanders are both making the football world — both college and the NFL — get smart about what Deion has done at Colorado, and both could hear their name called come April 2024.
It's beneficial to strike while the iron is hot, and if Shedeur continues to leave the football world bewitched, then it may be prudent to put his name in the draft pool.
