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Shedeur Sanders
Shedeur Sanders
Overview:
Shedeur Sanders’ college career has taken a unique path. A 4-star prospect out of high school, Shedeur decided to attend an HBCU school and play for his father at Jackson State. He earned numerous individual and team accolades, such as winning two SWAC championships as well as being Jackson State's school leader in passing touchdowns and completions. In 2023, Shedeur followed his dad once again, but this time to the University of Colorado, where, last season, he put up 3,230 pass yards, threw for 27 TDs (against just three interceptions) and completed 69.3 percent of his throws.
Strengths:
As a passer, I believe Sanders is a bit underrated, mainly because he played behind arguably the worst offensive line in major college football last year and, therefore, wasn’t able to consistently show all of his abilities. In the pocket, Sanders shows poise, and a good internal clock allows him to react calmly to pressure. He is underrated as an anticipatory thrower, as he shows good timing when his receivers get open.
As a decision-maker, Sander doesn’t get enough credit. He avoids bad throws and excels at protecting the ball, making smart decisions more often than not. When watching him play, you notice that he takes his time, and if the throwing lane is not there, he will move on to the next progression or extend with his legs.
In my opinion, Sanders is the best athlete of the three QBs evaluated here; he is a smooth athlete and nimble in space. When extending a play, he can pick up chunk yards if a defense forgets about him as a running threat. Sanders demonstrates nice footwork when stepping up in the pocket and resetting, giving him a solid foundation to throw a tight, accurate ball. His touch and overall placement on throws downfield is another strength, whether leading his man or putting a pass on a receiver’s back shoulder.
Weaknesses:
Shedeur is sometimes a bit slow going through his progressions, and this sluggishness in processing can lead to missed opportunities and sacks — especially true behind an offensive line that struggled like Colorado’s did in 2023. Sanders’ arm talent is about average. When throwing from a less-than-solid base or forced to change arm angles, his accuracy/ball placement can suffer. Sanders does possess a slightly elongated throwing motion, and defenders can get a jump on him when he does stare down a target.
Summary:
Even following a successful offseason, it’s hard to say whether Colorado will be a better team in 2024, but we do believe that, with another year of experience under his belt, Shedeur Sanders will be an improved quarterback. If he does decide to declare, Sanders will make a case for QB1 in the 2026 draft. We could even see a potential Heisman push if he gets more production from his supporting cast.
HISTORY -- From College Profile
2023 (Jr.)
- Started and played in 11 games during the 2023 season.
- Recorded 298 completions on 430 attempts (69.3%) for 3,230 passing yards and 31 total touchdowns.
- Rushed 111 attempts for 394 yards and four touchdowns
- Most passing yards (3,230) and 2nd most passing touchdowns (27) in CU history in a single season.
- 2nd most passing attempts (430) and 2nd most passing completions (298) in CU history.
- Highest completion percentage (69.3%) in CU history in a single season.
- Finished 9th in the country with a 69.3% completion percentage.
- Set nine school records in Colorado debut against TCU
- First player in CU history with 500 passing yards. Most passing yards in a single game (510).
- Best completion percentage with a minimum of 40 attempts (80.9%).
- Best completion percentage with a minimum of 30 attempts (80.9%).
- Best pass efficiency rating with a minimum of 40 attempts.
- Most completions by a junior (38).
- Most touchdown passes by a junior (4).
- Most yards total offense by a junior (510).
- Most yards total offense, season opener (478).
- Most yards total offense, first game of CU career (478).
- Awarded the AP Pac-12 Newcomer of the Year.
- Named to the First Team All Transfer for On3 and The Athletic.
- Named All Pac-12 Honorable Mention by College Football Network and Coaches.
AS A TRANSFER
- 247 Sports rated him a .9200 as a transfer and a four-star prospect as the No. 21 overall player in the 2023 portal rankings (as of 12/19) and as the fifth-ranked quarterback.
- Entered CU as a transfer with three years to play two.
AT JACKSON STATE (2021-22)
- Played two seasons at Jackson State, establishing himself as one of the best players in college football.
- He helped JSU to a 23-3 record as the starting quarterback, including a perfect 16-0 mark in SWAC games.
- Jackson State won two SWAC championships, the school’s first since 2007, and first two appearances in the Celebration Bowl, known as the HBCU National Championship game.
- Holds Jackson State records for season passing touchdowns (40), and completions (344), and is second for passing yards (3,752; record 3,808).
- In two years as the starting quarterback, he completed 616-of-901 passes for 6,983 yards and 70 touchdowns with just 14 interceptions, while adding 157 yards and nine rushing touchdowns.
- Sophomore season he was 344-of-488 passing for 3,752 yards and 40 touchdowns and six interceptions leading JSU to a 12-1 record and SWAC Championship.
- Finalist for the Walter Payton Award as the top offensive player in FCS football.
- Named the BOXTOROW National Offensive Player of the Year and a First-Team All-American.
- Earned SWAC Offensive Player of the Year by the league and by Phil Steele while picking up first-team All-SWAC honors from both.
- Named HERO Sports FCS Sophomore All-American.
- Named to the Watch Lists for the Walter Payton Award and the Black College HOF Player of the Year.
- SWAC Preseason Offensive Player of the year, BOXTOROW Preseason All-American, and first-team Preseason All-SWAC.
- Named the SWAC Offensive Player of the Week four times (Sept. 5, 19, 26, Oct. 10).
- Opened the 2022 season against Florida A&M connecting on 29-of-33 passes (87.9%) for 323 yards and five touchdowns and earned the SWAC Offensive Player of the Week, BOXTOROW National Offensive Player of the Week, Stats FCS Fedex Ground National Offensive Player of the Week and the SWAC Offenisve Player of the Week honors.
- Set career highs for completions (40), attempts (51) and passing yard (438) against Mississippi Valley State.
- Had five touchdown passes twice against Florida A&M and Bethune-Cookman and four TD tosses in five other games including the SWAC Championship game and the Celebration Bowl.
- Freshman season completed 272-of-413 passes for 3,231 yards and 30 touchdowns with eight interceptions, adding three rushing touchdowns.
- Named the Jerry Rice FCS National Freshman of the Year.
- Earned SWAC Freshman of the Year and second-team All-SWAC.
- Named the SWAC Offensive Player of the Week once (Sept. 11) and the Newcomer of the Week five times (Oct. 9, 23, 30, Nov. 6, 20).
- Led 10-point fourth-quarter comeback, throwing TD passes of 13 and 50 yards to Malachi Wideman in final 5:42, including game-winning TD pass with 1:31 remaining in Eastern Division title win at Southern.
HIGH SCHOOL RANKINGS
- Four-star prospect by ESPN and 247 Sports.
- ESPN: Rating of 86, four star prospect as the No. 60 ranked player nationally in the ESPN 300, the No. 12 quarterback and No. 8 player from Texas.
- Rivals rated him a 5.6 and three-star prospect.
- 247 Sports: Rating of 88 and a three-star prospect, ranked the No. 37 quarterback in the class and No. 75 player from Texas.
- 247 Composite: Rating of .9126, four-star prospect, ranked the No. 247 player nationally, No. 26 quarterback and No. 38 player from Texas.
- On3 Consensus: Rating of 89.16, the No. 408 player in the nation, the No. 33 quarterback and No. 60 player from Texas.
TRINITY CHRISTIAN HIGH SCHOOL (2017-20)
- Played four years of varsity at Trinity Christian under coach Andre’ Hart.
- In his high school career, he completed 805-of-1,238 passes for 12,627 yards and 166 touchdowns, compiling a 47-5 record, recording the 10th most wins at the prep level.
- As a senior, Trinity Christian was 9-3 when he completed 251-of-366 passes for 3,702 yards and 43 touchdowns and led TCC to the 2020 TCAL National Championship.
- Junior season, he was 244-of-331 passing for 3,477 yards and 47 touchdowns, adding 94 rushes for 255 yards and 11 touchdowns, helping TCC to a 13-1 record and third straight Division II state championship in the TAPPS (Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools).
- Sophomore season TCC was a perfect 14-0 when he completed 177-of-289 passes for 3,088 yards and 42 touchdowns, adding eight rushing touchdowns, winning the second of three TAPPS state championships.
- Freshman season TCC was 12-1 when he completed 133-of-252 passes for 2,360 yards and 34 touchdowns, adding three rushing scores, leading the program to a TAPPS state championship as a freshman.
Physical Attributes:
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| Weight: | 215 |
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