Like his father and head coach, Colorado Buffaloes star quarterback Shedeur Sanders does not shy away from challenges or the spotlight. At the Big 12 Football Media Day, held in Las Vegas, NV, this year, Sanders got his fair share of challenging questions while front and center at the event.
One of the questions the Buffaloes quarterback found himself answering was about the outside criticism he received following Colorado’s 4-8 2023 campaign and whether or not he believed there was room for improvement. According to Sanders, there is ‘always room for improvement.’ However, there is not always room for everyone’s opinion.
“It’s always room for improvement,” started Sanders. “But I honestly don’t really care about the opinions of people that haven’t really played the game; I really don’t. Because it’s like you could tell me, ‘Oh, your footwork’s bad.’ You get out there and get sacked 50 times, and you tell me how you feel. You tell me how your footwork is gonna be.”
Sanders and Colorado started off the year strong, going 3-0 in nonconference play. That hot start saw them knock off a top 25-ranked TCU squad and earn a spot in the top 25 rankings themselves. Unfortunately, once the Pac-12 conference place started, the Buffaloes’ offensive line struggles were exploited, resulting in Sanders taking a significant amount of punishment and the team going 1-8 to end the season. And as the Buffaloes quarterback highlighted, footwork, along with other aspects of playing quarterback, start to slip when faced with continuous hits throughout the game.
Sanders continued to address the question, pointing out his impressive play against TCU in comparison to how things looked towards the back end of the year. He also shared the sentiments of legendary and future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady and how he channels and utilizes Brady’s words on his football journey.
“Now, you can say the TCU game in the first half of the season [was] flawless,” said Sanders. “When hits start adding up, when real pressure gets applied, then things something’s gotta change; you gotta find solutions. So, of course, in my game, it’s year after year after year. Even Tom Brady would tell you that he’s always improving in an area. You can never be your full potential you could be. You’re always going to have room for improvement. But I’m nowhere close to my ceiling. That’s the difference with, I’ll say me and a lot of players: I’m not close to my ceiling at all; I’ve got a long way to go.”
Sanders isn’t making any excuses for how things ended in 2023. The Buffaloes’ star offensive player has big dreams and aspirations for the 2024 season and would like nothing more than to see them come to fruition. However, when it comes to criticism, Sanders does not appear to care or even worry about the thoughts of individuals who have not experienced the game of football, at least on the level at which he currently competes.
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