Colorado coach Deion Sanders says he’ll do his part to assist guide his son, quarterback Shedeur Sanders and Buffalo receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter to raised situations in next 12 months's NFL Draft.
During an appearance on Fox Sports 1's “Speak,” Deion Sanders was asked by co-host Keyshawn Johnson if he would intervene throughout the draft process if the “wrong” team drafted Shedeur.
“Yes, but I won’t make it public. I’m going to do it privately,” Sanders said. “I’ll be a daddy until the cows come home, and with Travis too.”
.@DeionSanders says he’ll intervene if the mistaken team drafts Shedeur. 👀 pic.twitter.com/WK67vSyouY
– Speak (@SpeakOnFS1) November 12, 2024
Shedeur Sanders and Hunter are each likely first-round picks. Dane Brugler ranked Hunter No. 1 on his latest list of the highest 50 NFL draft prospects. Sanders was No. 23, third amongst quarterbacks behind Miami's Cam Ward and Alabama's Jalen Milroe.
Sanders declined to call the teams he wanted Shedeur to play for, as a substitute pointing to qualities he wants in Shedeur's next stop on a team.
“Someone who can handle the quarterback that he is and someone who understands what he’s capable of,” Deion Sanders said. “Someone who has had success handling quarterbacks in the past, or someone and an organization that understands what they do. We don't just throw you to the wolves if you don't have the support and infrastructure of the team.
“Forget the (offensive) line. He played with lines that weren't great, but he could do his thing. It’s just the infrastructure of the team and the direction we’re going.”
Colorado is 7-2 and ranked No. 17 on this week's College Football Playoff rankings. The Buffaloes host Utah on Saturday and sit alone in second place within the Big 12 and are on course to play for the league title and a playoff spot.
Hunter is at the highest of The Athletic's Heisman Straw poll this week.
Sanders has coached his son throughout his football profession, from youth league to highschool to Jackson State before the duo got here to Colorado together after the 2022 season. Sanders also reiterated that he was joyful to be in Colorado when asked if he can be taken with coaching the Dallas Cowboys, where he played for five seasons.
“Shedeur started every game in high school, every game in college but one and he’s like, man. He has a true gift. It comes from God and he loves football,” he said. “This boy loves this game and has an insatiable appetite to win. And I also want there to be someone who can take him to the next level, not just him being drafted by a team because we have no chance.”
Eli Manning, who won two Super Bowls with the New York Giants, famously declared alongside his father Archie Manning that Eli wouldn’t play for the San Diego Chargers before the 2004 NFL Draft. The Chargers held the No. 1 spot, however the Mannings opposed Eli starting his profession there, partly due to the best way the franchise handled personal issues that arose during Ryan Leaf's tenure there after he left in 1998 Second place was chosen. The Chargers chosen Manning, but traded him to the New York Giants on the identical day.
The move is paying homage to one Sanders made during his own draft process in 1989. The Giants asked draft prospects to undergo a two-hour psychological evaluation on the NFL Scouting Combine. When Sanders learned that the Giants had the 18th pick within the draft, he declined to simply accept the evaluation.
“I said, 'I'll be gone by then.' See you later. “I don’t have time for that,” Sanders said in a 2017 interview.
The Atlanta Falcons selected him fifth overall.
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