Dec 28, 2024; San Antonio, TX, USA; Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders (2) warms up before the game against the Brigham Young Cougars at Alamodome. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Titans coach: QB Shedeur Sanders makes ‘really good first impression’

Quarterback Shedeur Sanders, expected to hear his name called early in the 2025 NFL Draft in April, is making the rounds at the East-West Shrine Bowl location but won’t play in the college All-Star game.

Instead, he’s taking part in meetings at the game site in Denton, Texas, giving NFL team officials a chance to gain insight into the former Colorado quarterback.

Count Tennessee Titans coach Brian Callahan among those who are impressed with Sanders, whose father is Pro Football Hall of Fame member Deion Sanders and was his college coach.

“You can tell he’s been raised right,” said Callahan, per the Titans’ website. “He’s mature, he has a really poised way about him, and he seems like a really good kid. I enjoyed talking to him. And, you could tell he’s a guy who has been in the spotlight. He knows how to handle himself, he’s been paid money, so he has a financial perspective.

“It was a really good first impression.”

The Titans have the No. 1 pick in the draft and likely are looking to move on from quarterback Will Levis, whether through the draft or free agency.

ESPN reported Saturday that the meeting with the Titans included a FaceTime call with Deion Sanders. Per the report, he also met with the Cleveland Browns, who have the No. 2 pick, and the New York Giants, who will select third. Those teams also have a quarterback on their wish lists.

The Shrine Bowl, set to be played Thursday, is the first chance for teams to get a look at players. There’s also the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., ahead of the NFL Scouting Combine, which opens a month from now in Indianapolis.

The 6-foot-2, 215-pound Sanders played in 13 games in the 2024 season, completing 74 percent of his passes (353 of 477) for 4,134 yards with 37 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

“The thing that stands out the most is his toughness,” Callahan said of Sanders. “He took some pretty big shots and he kept rolling. He can stand in the pocket and deliver it. He can move and create a bit, he has some ability to move out the pocket, and he does create on his own. He’s not a high-end dynamic scrambler necessarily, but he is productive when he does. And he really has a good feel for anticipation and timing, you can tell he’s been coached in that regard. Those things show up on tape.”

Another top quarterback, Cam Ward of Miami, is not at the Shrine Bowl.

ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. lists Sanders and Ward 1-2 in his ranking of top quarterbacks.

–Field Level Media

Dec 7, 2024; Arlington, TX, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils running back Cam Skattebo (4) holds up the WWE Big 12 championship belt after the Sun Devils defeat the Iowa State Cyclones and win the 2024 Big 12 Championship at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Cam Skattebo, Shedeur Sanders among top 10 Heisman vote-getters

The winner of the 2024 Heisman Trophy will be announced Saturday night from among four finalists, but the organizers of the award on Friday released the list of other top vote-getters.

Colorado cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter, Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty, Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel and Miami quarterback Cam Ward are the top four on that list, though of course the order of those four will be revealed at the Heisman ceremony this weekend.

Checking in at No. 5 is Arizona State running back Cam Skattebo, who powered the Sun Devils to a six-game winning streak and a Big 12 championship, as well as a first-round bye in the upcoming College Football Playoff.

Skattebo exploded for 1,568 yards and 19 touchdowns on the ground with a trademark hard-running style. He added 37 receptions for 506 yards and an additional three touchdowns.

Bryson Daily finished in sixth place after quarterbacking the Army Black Knights to an 11-1 record and current No. 22 ranking in the CFP Top 25. Daily led the Black Knights in passing (877 yards, eight touchdowns) and rushing (1,480 yards, 29 touchdowns) as Army won the American Conference with an 8-0 record.

Tight end Tyler Warren finished seventh and was a similar multi-purpose threat for 11-2 Penn State, leading the Nittany Lions with 88 receptions for 1,062 yards and six touchdowns, while also running for 191 yards and four touchdowns. Warren also tossed a touchdown pass for the No. 4 Nittany Lions, another playoff team.

Hunter’s high-profile teammate Shedeur Sanders was eighth after throwing for 3,926 yards and 35 touchdowns for 9-3 Colorado. Sanders added four touchdowns on the ground.

No. 9 in voting was Indiana’s Kurtis Rourke, who quarterbacked the Hoosiers to a playoff berth with an 11-1 record. Rourke threw for 2,827 yards and 27 touchdowns and scored two rushing TDs.

Rounding out the top 10 was Syracuse quarterback Kyle McCord. The Ohio State transfer threw for 4,326 yards and 29 touchdowns with three touchdowns on the ground in his first season with the Orange, who finished 9-3.

–Field Level Media

Nov 11, 2023; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders (2) at the line of scrimmage in the first half against the Arizona Wildcats at Folsom Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders dealing with back fracture

Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders is dealing with “a fracture in his back” after being sacked 52 times this season, according to his brother.

Deion Sanders Jr. announced the news in a video late Sunday on his YouTube channel.

Their father, Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, finished 4-8 in his first season as head coach of the Buffaloes.

Shedeur Sanders started the first 11 games before sitting out Saturday’s season-ending 23-17 loss at Utah with arm and ankle injuries.

“It’s crazy because I feel good, bro,” Shedeur told Deion Jr. in the video. “But when I start running for real, it’s like the idea is like, ‘Ah, I feel good,’ but realistically … you can’t. I can’t even throw right now.”

Shedeur Sanders, who followed his dad from Jackson State, completed 69.3 percent of his passes for 3,230 yards with 27 touchdowns and three interceptions this season. He also rushed for four scores.

Sanders’ 52 sacks were the most in the nation this season. The NCAA single-season record is 60, set by Pittsburgh’s Tino Sunseri in 2011.

–Field Level Media

Dec 18, 2021; Atlanta, GA, USA; Jackson State Tigers defensive back Shilo Sanders (21) warms up prior to the game against the South Carolina State Bulldogs during the 2021 Celebration Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Shilo Sanders, Deion’s son, officially commits to Colorado

Former Jackson State safety Shilo Sanders announced his transfer to Colorado, a move that allows him to join his father and younger brother.

His father, Deion, is the new head coach of the Buffaloes, while Shedeur is the team’s expected starting quarterback.

Shilo Sanders entered the transfer portal on Dec. 17 but remained at Jackson State to complete his undergraduate degree this spring.

He confirmed his transfer destination late Saturday night with a glitzy video posted on Twitter that concluded with him wearing a Colorado uniform and the word “COMMITTED.”

Shilo Sanders recorded 20 tackles and one interception in 2022 in seven games, one season removed from collecting four picks, two forced fumbles and 39 tackles en route to earning second-team all-Southwestern Athletic Conference honors.

He spent his first two seasons at South Carolina before transferring to play for his father.

Deion Sanders inherited a program at Jackson State that went 4-8 in 2019, the season before his arrival. The Pro Football Hall of Fame member quickly turned around the Tigers with 11-2 and 12-1 seasons from 2021-22 before landing the Colorado job.

The Buffs are coming off a 1-11 season under Karl Dorrell (fired after an 0-5 start) and interim coach Mike Sanford.

–Field Level Media

Sep 21, 2020; Jackson, MS, USA; Deion Sanders smiles as he is introduced as Jackson State's head football coach at the Lee E. Williams Athletics and Assembly Center at JSU Monday, September 21, 2020. Mandatory Credit: Eric Shelton/Clarion Ledger-USA TODAY NETWORK

Deion Sanders’ QB son commits to Jackson State

Jackson State University head coach Deion Sanders is quite familiar with his latest recruit.

Quarterback Shedeur Sanders, Deion’s son, committed to Jackson State on Friday, reneging on the commitment he made to Florida Atlantic in July.

The younger Sanders, ranked the 60th-best overall prospect for 2021 by ESPN, is the highest-rated prospect on ESPN’s lists ever to commit to a historically Black college or university (HBCU) and the top-rated recruit in Jackson State history.

Shedeur Sanders tweeted, “I couldn’t pass up a opportunity to help level the playing field & pursue equality for HBCU’s! Dad I got your back! JSU … COMMITTED”

247 Sports lists Sanders as the No. 14 pro-style quarterback in his graduating class. Sanders, who is 6-foot-1, 198 pounds, is playing his senior season for Trinity Christian School in Cedar Hill, Texas. In 2019, he guided the school to a third consecutive Division II state championship among private and parochial schools.

Various sources put Sanders’ passing totals through his junior year just below 9,000 yards.

Jackson State hired Deion Sanders as its head coach in September. A Pro Football Hall of Famer who also played in baseball’s major leagues, Sanders’ only previous coaching experience was all at the high school level. He was Trinity Christian’s offensive coordinator from 2017-20.

Jackson State’s football schedule was postponed from the fall to the spring along with the entire Southwestern Athletic Conference slate. The Tigers’ opener is now on tap for Feb. 21 against Edward Waters College of Jacksonville, Fla.

–Field Level Media