The Colorado Buffaloes end 2024 with an Alamo Bowl appearance on Saturday – and Deion Sanders has mixed feelings ahead of the big occasion.
The NFL icon – who won Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers during his playing career – will bid farewell to a special class of players. Sanders’ second season at the Buffaloes helm will conclude with the biggest game of his coaching career to date when they meet the BYU Cougars in the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio, Texas.
Heisman Trophy-winner Travis Hunter will have his college send-off in the game, while it will also be Sanders’ final time coaching sons Shedeur and Shilo (as NCAA players, at least). ‘Prime Time’ is set to mentor his special group of emerging talents for the last time – and admitted Hunter will likely leave him crying by the end of the game.
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“Its gonna be something to behold,” said Sanders ahead of Colorado’s campaign curtain call. “I dont know how Im gonna handle it. I know Travis is gonna trigger me. I know it because he always does, and hes gonna bring tears out of my eyes. But I dont look forward to it. But I do, because that means theyre going to another level, another chapter of life. And theyre gonna soar.”
Sanders – who also represented Washington and Baltimore during his NFL tenure – has adopted a father-like role in Hunter’s life. The dual talent – who became the first defensive player to win the Heisman Trophy since 1997 – followed Sanders from Jackson State to Colorado in 2023.
It’s fair to say the move has paid off. Hunter, 21, went 9-3 this season to top the Big 12 Conference. He has even described his head coach as being “like a father figure” en route to picking up the greatest individual honor in college football.
The cornerback and receiver is widely expected to be among the top picks in next year’s NFL Draft. Colorado hasn’t produced a Draft pick since offensive tackle Will Sherman was taken by the New England Patriots in 2021, but there’s a chance he may go down in school history as their most successful player of all time if he keeps up his current trajectory.
Meanwhile, quarterback Shedeur is currently the favorite to the No. 1 draft pick though fellow QB, Cade Klubnik, who plays for the Clemson Tigers, has also entered the conversation recently.
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