“Shilo Sanders’ draft stock reportedly ‘did not improve much’ with his performances in the Shrine Bowl practices,” read an Instagram post from NFL Rookie Watch on January 28, essentially setting the tone for what would be a tough road for the Sanders offspring. While his brother Shedeur is reportedly eyeing a Top-10 spot in the upcoming NFL Draft as per ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr and Louis Reddick, Shilo’s chances seem to be dwindling down with each passing day—intensified by a recent snub that’s got to break his heart. But did it, though? Well, things have been quite the opposite, as the safety has hit back in the most creative way possible. But before we get to that, let’s rewind for a moment…

Signs of a downhill trend in Shilo’s career started surfacing in October last year when the Colorado Buffaloes suffered an unceremonious 31-28 defeat to Kansas State. The worst part? Shilo’s very obvious shortfalls throughout the clash, after missing almost three games owing to a forearm injury. While the return was supposed to be iconic, it ended up being controversial instead—Kansas State running back DJ Giddens outplayed the 25-year-old multiple times, with the latter missing multiple tackles and struggling to take effective routes against the opponent’s offense. The result? Public humiliation. That too, from his own father. 

Deion Sanders was in no mood for brushing his son’s lackluster performance under the rug. “I thought he played horrible. I thought he was rusty. I thought he didn’t have his footing. I thought he wasn’t breaking down. He was coming up trying to make the play but open field, one-on-one tackle, with that kind of back, that ain’t an easy task. But, he’s gonna do better. I know what he has in him,” Prime said after the game. While Shilo acknowledged the feedback whole-heartedly, the damage, it seems, was done. The direct impact, as expected, was on the eagle-eyed NFL scout’s minds. Unfortunately, more was to follow…

As January rolled by, it was time for redemption aka the Shrine Bowl practices, where players would be able to showcase their skills to NFL scouts ahead of the Draft. In the most twisted turn of events, Shilo couldn’t make an impact on that occasion either. Despite a decent CFB season with 67 tackles, the safety turned heads as viral clips showed him getting “beat” in one-on-one drills. Shilo’s defense? 

“If you just hate me, or you want to hate me… paint me in a bad picture, they do that to our President [Donald Trump], they do that to everybody, you know. So I’m not going to be safe from it. But it does get aggravating whenever you’re putting in work and you’re working on your craft and people are just steadily destroying you,” the player confidently stated. However, confidence is only going to take you so far, as evident by Shilo’s recent setback.

The Buffs safety was reportedly not among the 329 players invited to the NFL combine. But you’re wrong if you thought that was going to deter Coach Prime’s son. On February 19, an albeit surprising video appeared on Shilo Sanders’ official YouTube channel. Titled, “No Invite? Shilo Sanders Brings NFL Combine To Colorado”, it’s exactly what it sounds like…

“I didn’t get invited to the Combine, but I brought the Combine to me,” the player said in the video. He reportedly hired Zybek Sports, “a local company that has been timing the 40-yard dash at the NFL combine for the past 13 years, according to Mike Weinstein, the company’s owner.” 

“These are the same exact timers they use in NFL Combine,” Sanders further noted, to which Weinstein responded, “[We’re gonna be] getting the exact same timing for the 40[-yard dash] at least as if you were at the Indianapolis Scouting Combine.”

Shilo wasn’t done boasting as he further stated, “This is the laser that everyone’s scared of. This is who created the laser that everybody’s scared of. And, I’m about to get all the tips and tricks. Nobody’s seen as many 40s as you.”

Top Comment by Big D

Shilo will become a very good safety. He is an excellent athlete.

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Weinstein: “Yeah, I’ve seen a lot of 40s.” 

Having said that, the video didn’t reveal Shilo’s 40 time, but he informed that he would be working with Zybek Sports more regularly, and that all of the information about his workouts will be passed onto NFL teams. “We’re going to be using this to track training and track progress,” Sanders said. 

It’s true that not getting an NFL invite is a significant step back in any athlete’s career path, but it’s not the end of the world, especially when you have such a support system to back you up tirelessly. The path ahead is tough yet fascinating for Shilo, as it can very well help him get rid of the most proverbial dogma: the Deion Sander’s son syndrome.

Not getting the NFL hype might turn out to be a blessing for Shilo Sanders 

Shilo Sanders can turn the page and rewrite his story in the NFL. Coach Prime’s son never wants to live as a byproduct of his GOAT dad and has expressed strong sentiment over the popular nepotism controversy surrounding him. During a recent clip shared on Rivals.com, the Buffs defensive back straightaway declared that he doesn’t want to call himself Coach Prime’s son. The kid added that he has constantly been trying to make a name for himself for a long time to get out of his Hall of Fame father’s goodwill.

Stepping out of Colorado can be a pivotal step toward that, only if Shilo can work on his issues and make things look better in the upcoming two to three years in the pro. Colorado alum Matt McChesney doesn’t think it’s impossible at all. Rather, he thinks a good struggle can give the future generation a proper fueling storyline to look up to and get psyched up.

There is nothing more glorious than turning your own role from a mid-carder to the protagonist in the story called Life. The same goes for the athletes. Elaborating a feel-good hypothesis, Matt noted, ”He does, yeah, go six seventh-rounder, undrafted and then use that as fuel and fire to go (f___ g) tear up your opportunity and go play for 10 years, then just be like, ‘Yeah my brother went first pick overall, I went undrafted, I played for 10 years, he played for 12 years, like our dad is a first-ballot Hall of Famer.’ That’d be pretty cool to me.”

It will be interesting to see how Shilo lives up to the expectations and makes things change for himself.