Shedeur Sanders explains balance of distributing passes to Colorado receivers

Not many teams in the country throw the ball quite like the Colorado Buffaloes, who ranked No. 7 in the FBS with 324 yards per game through the air. It’s a passing attack led by quarterback Shedeur Sanders and numerous weapons on the perimeter.

A majority of Colorado’s top wideouts transferred in from other programs, where they were also previously top targets. Its an adjustment that receivers like LaJohntay Wester and others had to make that Sanders recently spoke about heading into this weekend’s matchup against Cincinnati.

“It was really all the receivers, it was tough early on getting everybody adjusted to knowing that the ball is gonna get spread around everywhere. It’s just just patience,” Sanders explained. “So you get a guy that came from FAU where he was the best receiver there getting all the targets. To now, everybody is a great player.”

Will Sheppard was Vanderbilt‘s top wideout before joining the Buffaloes this offseason. And in the previous offseason, two-way superstar Travis Hunter joined the Buffaloes from Jackson State alongside Sanders. Not to mention Jimmy Horn also transferring in ahead of last season after racking up 959 yards in two seasons with USF.

There’s no question that there are a lot of mouths to feed in Colorado’s passing game, including Wester’s after posting a 1,000-yard season last year at FAU. But him and others eventually learned how to fit into the Buffs’ offense.

“So that was the only thing at first that he had to understand coming here, everything’s gonna go down a little bit,” Sanders said of Wester regarding his production. “So then he worked his way into the best situations for him, the best situations and him knowing okay, this is my play, this is his play, and everybody’s really playing complimentary as a receiver group. That’s what’s most important.”

Each Colorado wide receive brings a different skillset to the table that they’ve been able to lean into as a part of the passing game. With all wideouts trailing Hunter in receptions and yards, but Wester leading the team with seven touchdown catches. Roles that have continued to evolve with injuries as players like Hunter, Omarion Miller, and Terrell Timmons have all missed time this season.

“It hurts us the most, we lost O, we lost 82, Terrell, because everybody plays their part. When one guy goes down, when Travis is out, that’s when a lot of other guys go in. So that’s why it’s real sad that O is out and Terrell is out,” Sanders explained. “But the freshman they got in, they stepped up, they made some catches, they did what they had to do.

“But overall, it’s fun. Everybody understands the playing style, everybody understands each other now so we’re just always going to play to their strengths.”

Colorado’s success in the passing game has directly impacted winning, currently sitting at a 5-2 record that they’ll look to add another win to this Saturday when they host the Bearcats.