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Deion Sanders brings 'horrible' Shedeur back to earth amid growing pressure on Colorado

Coach Prime doesn't want any complacency

Deion Sanders brings 'horrible' Shedeur back to earth amid growing pressure on Colorado
Lapresse

This is no time for the Colorado Buffaloes to rest on their laurels. The target on their backs is growing larger amid impressive wins over Baylor and UCF in recent weeks -- the latter, by a whopping 27 points -- with head coach Deion Sanders keen to remind his players that they have not accomplished anything yet.

In 2023, Colorado began the season 3-0 and achieved a ranking as high as 18th before crashing back to earth. The Buffs lost eight of their final nine games and finished a mediocre 4-8, missing out on a bowl game in their final season in the Pac-12 Conference. Now in the Big 12, Colorado again looks good entering October...and Coach Prime is intent on making it count this time.

Deion rips Shedeur in practice

During a practice session on Tuesday, Coach Prime took his star quarterback aside and laid into him for a perceived lack of determination and effort -- showing that this time, Deion is not about to give his son a free .

"Shedeur, that was horrible from you today," Sanders said. "You've got to come with a better effort and more focus."

It may seem unusual for Prime to slam his son coming off the back of a 290-yard, three-touchdown outing against UCF on Saturday, but it highlights how narrow the margins are in elite college football. As a former player himself -- a Hall of Fame-caliber one, at that -- Deion is keenly aware of the effort and consistency needed to succeed at the highest level, in the most difficult circumstances.

Deion also knows that in around six months' time, Shedeur is likely to be selected in the NFL Draft -- maybe, even, with one of the very first picks. Keeping expectations high and distractions to a minimum will convince NFL teams that Shedeur should be their signal-caller of the future. Beating #20 Kansas State in 10 days' time could help Shedeur's cause, too.

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