Shedeur Sanders opens up on pressure against fellow Pac-12 quarterbacks

Over the last two seasons at Jackson State, Shedeur Sanders totaled a 23-3 record under his father. Now, he and his dad are at Colorado — and the spotlight’s bigger in the Power Five.

Sanders understands the pressure of playing in the Pac-12 after his dad took over as the Buffaloes’ head coach. He’s going up against some big-time talent at the quarterback position, including the reigning Heisman Trophy winner and a Heisman finalist.

He doesn’t seem fazed, though.

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“I handle it by each and every year, it’s the same thing,” Sanders said on SportsCenter during Pac-12 Media Day. “No matter the occasion, I just understand there’s just a couple bigger, faster guys I’m out here playing in this conference, I would say. But other than that, the pressure’s been all my life since I was born. Each and every year, the camera’s been in the spotlight. Y’all are just able to see it now. That’s the biggest thing right now is finding time for the world to see.”

Sanders put up impressive numbers at Jackson State. Last year, he set a new career high with 3,732 passing yards and 40 touchdowns in the air — plus six touchdowns on the ground — before entering the transfer portal to follow Deion to Colorado. He comes in with plenty of hype as the No. 10-ranked quarterback transfer from the 2023 cycle, according to the On3 Transfer Portal Rankings.

The competition will be tough, though. Caleb Williams is looking to defend his Heisman Trophy after an impressive 2022 campaign at USC. He finished the year with 4,537 yards and 42 touchdowns in the air in addition to his 382 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground.

In fact, the top five passing quarterbacks in the Pac-12 in 2022 are all back in 2023. Michael Penix Jr. was the other Heisman finalist from the conference, putting together a strong season after transferring to Washington. He threw for a league-leading 4,641 yards and 31 touchdowns, and returned for one more year under Kalen DeBoer.

There’s plenty of talent at quarterback in the Pac-12, and Colorado defensive coordinator Charles Kelly knows it. He pointed out how tough it is to game plan while also expressing his excitement to see Sanders go toe-to-toe with the rest of the conference.

“First of all, the quarterbacks in this league are just absolutely incredible,” Kelly said. “It’s a very impressive group. And might I say, I’m pretty proud of our quarterback, also. I think Shedeur has done some incredible things in his career and I’m anxious to watch what he can do. I mean, some of the numbers that he’s put up. But to your question, every quarterback in this conference is different.

“And if you watch them play, they have a unique skillset that is a little bit different from week to week. So that puts a challenge on us calling the defense or going into a game with a game plan. We have to be a little bit strategic on how we control each of these guys a little bit different.”