The Colorado Buffaloes are fully entrenched in their spring football practices in anticipation of the biggest spring football game the program has ever witnessed. With 45,000 fans expected to attend the “Annual Black And Gold” game, which will smash the current record of just over 17,000 fans in 2008, first-year quarterback Shedeur Sanders wants to put on a show.
But the reigning SWAC Player of the Year and Deacon Jones Trophy winner while at Jackson State will be looking to get off to a good start as the new leader under center for the middling Buffaloes program.
Sanders transferred when his Pro Football Hall of Fame dad, Deion Sanders left JSU to become the new head coach in Boulder. While Deion anointed Shedeur the starting QB from the jump, the young signal-caller still has to go out and prove he is worthy of the job.
And he’s having to do so in new offensive coordinator Sean Lewis’ uptempo and at times breakneck-speed offense. For the strong-armed Sanders, a 2021 four-star recruit who was the highest-ranked recruit in Jackson State history at the time, learning a new offense is less of a challenge because he studies a ton.
What Makes Sean Lewis’ Offense Challenging For Shedeur?
That doesn’t mean it’s been smooth sailing adjusting to Lewis’ offense which moves much faster than the offense Shedeur masterfully executed under Brett Bartolone at JSU, therefore putting more onus on the QB at the line of scrimmage.
Sanders Does Late Night Study Sessions
In an effort to learn the nuances and tendencies of the offense faster and with more precision, Sanders says he watches film of not only his spring practice, but of Lewis’ past offenses at Kent State, Syracuse and Bowling Green.
“Right now, it is like 9:30 to until 11 (p.m.), I watch just everything Coach Lewis has done in his career,” Sanders said during a recent Colorado news conference. “His offense is easy to whenever you actually just dive in it and understand what it is going to take to get dominant.”
In Lewis’ last three seasons at Kent State, the Golden Flashes averaged 83, 77 and 75 plays per game. Good enough for top-five in plays ran per game in the country. Jackson State averaged a solid 62.5 plays per game in Sanders’ two seasons at the helm. That will change with Lewis and it should help Shedeur’s draft prospects if he proves he can run a tempo pro-style offense.
The goal is to stress the defense and affect substitutions, something Coach Prime was clamoring for at Jackson State.
Colorado Offense Will Require Some Pre And Post-Snap Progression
Make no mistake about it, Lewis runs one of the most QB-friendly offenses in the country, but it does require a lot of the QB, mainly reading defenses both pre and post-snap. That’s an area where Sanders needs improvement, as this offense doesn’t have a lot of one-read routes, nor will he have a pure talent advantage weekly as he did at Jackson State.
“This offense takes a lot of thinking. You’ll be mentally tired towards the end,” Sanders admitted. “First week of spring ball to now, it’s a big difference, and I’ve kind of grasped what Coach Lewis is talking about, what type of play-caller he is. I am in his mind now. So now I feel more comfortable when I am out there and more elusive and I am able to play fast, and just know my reads on each and every play.”
Sounds like Sanders is getting comfortable in the offense, and that’s huge for the success of the Buffaloes in year one. We’ll get to see them on April 22 as they’re only one of two spring games being covered and shown on ESPN, along with defending back-to-back national champion Georgia.
The “Coach Prime Effect,” has come to the Pac-12, and Shedeur has the pressure of making his Dad’s first season a manageable one.
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