Stephen A. Smith praises Shedeur Sanders as “special” and calls Coach Prime’s QB son a “potential superstar” after defeating Colorado 3-0

After a narrow win against hated rival Colorado State, the University of Colorado football team is experiencing a high it hasn’t seen in decades.

Most of that is thanks to their new coach – Deion Sanders – and the talented class of transfers the Buffaloes brought in.

Perhaps the most impressive of them is the son of coach and starting quarterback Shedeur Sanders, who threw for 348 yards and four touchdowns in a 43-35 overtime win.

Shedeur made the transition from FCS football to FBS football look easy. After a decent season at Jackson State, Shedeur made a very strong impression in Colorado.

This was pointed out on ESPN’s First Take, where host Stephen A. Smith and guest Shannon Sharpe sang Shedeur’s praises.

Shedeur Sanders is turning heads after his impressive performances for Colorado

Sanders rushed for 348 yards and four touchdowns in the big win over Colorado State

Both Stephen A. Smith (l.) and Shannon Sharpe (r.) praised the Colorado quarterback

“Ladies and gentlemen, Shedeur is special,” Smith told the national audience. “We interviewed him, we spoke to him. We watch him play.

“We see the speed, we see the athleticism, we see the arm strength.” I watch him ignore the coverage. I mean, he does things that you don’t see a lot of college quarterbacks do.

Stephen A. continued, saying that the young quarterback has “the poise, the intellect, the athleticism, the arm strength, the drive, the ‘wanting for the moment.’

“This boy here, if we see talent, that’s one thing.” But knowing that [Deion Sanders is] his father, and having that light on him and playing the way he plays here [points to brain], not just with his skills, we have a potential superstar on our hands. This brother is special, right? He is very special.’

Sharpe praised both Shedeur’s performance late in the game and Deion’s bold decision in overtime. ‘[Deion] did something I had never seen in overtime. Most coaches hesitate because I need to know what I need, Stephen A. Do I need three points? Do I need a touchdown? Do I have to go with two people?

‘[Deion] said, no, I want the ball in Shedeur’s hand. I want the pressure to be on them. I want them to know what they have to do. I’ve got a hot quarterback, I’m going to put the ball in his hands.

“Shedeur Sanders can go full throttle, turn it around.” 98 meters. He’s got to go 98 yards and get the two-point conversion just to take this thing to overtime.’

Sharpe said Shedeur, 2, is doing well because he doesn’t let the pressure of being the son of Colorado head coach and Pro Football Hall-of-Famer Deion Sanders (l.) get to him

Sharpe also criticized Sanders and CSU coach Jay Norvell (l.) for failing to control the game and allowing players to take penalties and make dangerous plays and shots all night long

Sharpe, an NFL Hall of Famer, also praised Shedeur for his ability to live up to the expectations placed on him as the son of such a legendary football player.

“It’s not easy being the child of a star,” Sharpe said. “Because the parental shadow looms large, but he has no reverence for it.” He embraces it. He asks himself, “Why should I be ashamed of my father, Deion Sanders?”

As for Colorado’s opponents, both Smith and Sharpe praised the Rams: “Colorado State, they were ready to play,” Stephen A. said. “Give them a lot of props.” They showed up. I thought they were going to explode.

“They showed up and showed me a lot. “Coach Norvell, he deserves a lot of respect.”

While Sharpe also praised the Rams, he had some criticism of Colorado State coach Jay Norvell for how he handled the animosity leading up to the game.

“Look, this is a rivalry game. Jay Norvell had his team ready to play. He said what he said for a reason. This was to get his boys [ready] because he knew it would go to Coach Prime and his team and they would be ready to go.

“I thought both coaches should have gotten the matter under control much earlier because it was getting out of control. They had 17 Colorado State penalties, 182 yards, and that ended up costing them the game.

“And that’s what I tell people all the time: You either train it or you tolerate it.” Either you train this type of game or you tolerate this type of game. And it shows me he tolerated that late hit on Travis Hunter. [CSU safety Henry Blackburn] should have been outside.’

Travis Hunter (12), one of Colorado’s best players, will reportedly be out for three weeks

Blackburn’s late goal resulted in Colorado losing Hunter, the team’s most dynamic player who plays both offense and defense.

On Monday, reports said Hunter would be out for at least three weeks due to the injury.

Colorado’s narrow win marked a slight drop in their AP Top 25 rankings, as the Buffaloes fell from No. 18 to No. 19 nationally.

This week, Colorado plays its first Pac-12 match of the season in a tough road test – when they take on No. 10 Oregon.