Shedeur Sanders addresses his injury, how he has battled through it to keep playing
During Colorado’s 26-19 loss to Oregon State, Shedeur Sanders received an in-game painkiller injection in his injured hip for the second straight game. After the loss, the Colorado quarterback pulled back the curtain on his in-game trip to the locker room.
“I ain’t going in there to just dap nobody up and have fun in there,” Sanders said. “I left because I had a lot of pain in my body.”
In the defeat, Sanders completed 24-of-his-39 pass attempts for 245 yards and two touchdowns. The junior QB was under relentless pressure, suffering four sacks and losing 37 total rushing yards in the outing.
It isn’t an unfamiliar feeling for Sanders. Colorado has allowed 46 sacks this season, the second-most in the country. It’s no surprise Sanders is feeling the consequences. Although he was in pain, Sanders claims he was never going to let a simple hip injury keep him out of the game.
“What type of guy would I look like, no matter what, leaving all 80 of us out there hanging?” Sanders said. “It’s gotta be a life or death situation for me to just leave everybody hanging like that. The pain of not being there for them overrides the pain that’s going through my body.”
Shedeur Sanders pushes through the pain
Sanders’ pain was obvious. The Colorado standout hobbled upon his return. Nonetheless, he found success. Down 26-12 in the fourth quarter, Sanders led his Buffaloes on a three-minute stampede toward the end zone.
With the score, Colorado was in striking distance. Yet, Oregon State never gave the Buffaloes a chance to score again. Following the loss, Sanders revealed what clicked on Colorado’s final drive.
“I just got mad. That’s it,” Sanders said. “When I get mad, it’s just a different me. Taking L’s like that, that’s something new to me. I don’t really like no man to feel like he’s better than me. They had a better day, as a team, but I’m normally the best guy out there.”
Colorado’s recent outcomes haven’t reflected Sanders’ individual success. After beginning the season on a triumphant 3-0 win streak, Colorado has lost five of its last six games. Now, the team must fight just to reach a bowl game.
“This is hard,” head coach Deion Sanders said. “The reason it’s so hard is because you know you’re capable of doing better, playing better, performing better, calling better games, coaching better on my behalf and you are coming up short when you have enough to get the job done.
“And it’s painful. It hurts myself, the team and all the coaches, the fans, some of you as well that actually care.”