Shilo Sanders on Colorado defense under Robert Livingston: 'I couldn't ask for more'

This offseason, the Colorado Buffaloes made a change at defensive coordinator, bringing in Robert Livingston. It’s a move that will see him work directly with players like Shilo Sanders as the Buffaloes look to take a step forward in 2024.

This Spring, Shilo Sanders praised Robert Livingston, saying that he couldn’t ask for more than him as a defensive coordinator.

“Right now, he’s working with me like Jessie Bates,” Shilo Sanders said. “That’s just cool having a guy like that that could be like alright, this is who I want you to model right here. So, just studying him.”

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Jessie Bates, who Sanders referenced, is an NFL defensive back who started his career with the Cincinnati Bengals. That’s the team that Robert Livingston most recently worked with, coaching the safeties.

“Having a pro coach who was just in the NFL because I’ll be wondering how it is as a college player, what is it gonna be like in the league? How are the coaches in the league? And it’s like the league right now. He’s not even used to being in college still, like with the hashes and stuff. How we practice — we practice really hard. It’s still, like new. Cause they be taking care of each other in practice and stuff, but like he’s fresh from the NFL,” Sanders said.

“I couldn’t have asked for more, honestly. The experience with the Super Bowl and what more can you ask for if you’re a DB? What situation would you more want to be in?”

The Colorado defense struggled in 2023, finishing 124th in scoring defense while giving up 34.8 points per game. That group struggled in many areas, but passing defense was a particular issue for the Buffaloes. For the season, Colorado was 127th in passing defense, giving up 276.9 yards per game through the air.

Shilo Sanders defends post reaching out to transfer portal players

This offseason, Shilo Sanders posted on social media, reaching out to transfer players. That, in turn, led to criticism of the approach by Colorado, which Sanders went on to defend.

“I don’t know. The day I posted is the first day the portal opened. Me, as a player, you know gotta how I think. The more games we win, the easier it is to get looks and to get drafted, and I want the best opportunity to win, which ends up [with] getting drafted earlier. So, I’m going to do all I can to beef up the team,” Sanders said.

“We’ve got a good team right now. I just want to make it easier for other guys to really just feel like, ‘Alright. If I want to go to Colorado, it’s not hard.’ Because my dad said he ain’t hard to find. We ain’t hard to find either.”