It’s hard to even imagine Colorado Buffaloes without a Travis Hunter or a Shedeur Sanders. But as they say, every good thing must come to an end, and it’s an inevitable pain to bear. It’s time for every Buff fan to toughen up as Shedeur, Travis, the Captain America- Bucky Barnes duo of the college football bids an emotive goodbye. They suited up in the CU Jersey for the very last time during the Valero Alamo Bowl in San Antonio on Saturday against the BYU Cougars. It didn’t go as expected and the Hunter-Sanders duo failed to bring out their absolute best to finish on a high.

But that doesn’t mean the gloom of a disastrous bowl can shine out the storied two-year tenure of brothers from another mother in Boulder. Coach Prime couldn’t hold his tears watching his boys play and win games. Looking at his players stepping onto the field for one last time in their college careers, Coach Prime couldn’t control his emotions in his pregame remarks.

Deion Sanders recollected the good as his kids closed out an era

We enjoyed the Sanders family’s two-year run in Colorado. Even during a losing season in 2023, Deion and his boys entertained. Of course, when you fail to live up to the hype, there will be criticism, and one must say, some of it wasn’t earned. 2024 was different from the very start, as the Buffs looked like a team that could take on anyone on their day. Lest we forget, it didn’t start in Boulder. This journey began when Coach Prime took Shilo and Shedeur to Jackson State.

As Shilo wrapped up his tenure at Boulder with his brother, Deion Sanders looked back, ”When we walked. When we did our walk, and Shilo was there and looking across the field, and I’m seeing Cam, and I’m seeing Herm and so many of the other guys that have been on this journey with us, man, that’s tough.” 

That wasn’t it. Perhaps the most emotional bit was reserved for his sons, and Coach Prime didn’t hold back. He poured his heart out. “And then my sons, man, that’s tough. That’s tough, to know that that’s it, that that walk won’t happen again. That’s tough. We’ve been doing this for a long time. You recollect just the times in youth league and seeing them lay out uniforms in my closet, getting ready for the next game, and he [Shilo] used to have 100 wristbands on his wrist trying to stunt. All of these things I recall.”

During a frustrating 36-14 loss in the Bowl game against the Cougars, Shilo Sanders added eight tackles and one pass deflection to the stat sheet. After the game and his career for the Buffs got over for good, he stuck around for some time and took some photos with the fans.

Shilo Sanders has a rough season under his belt. Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter put together some spectacular performances for the team and led it to a bowl game. Shilo’s season wasn’t the game. It didn’t help his case that some of his bad performances came in the games that the team lost.

Against Kansas Jayhawks, when the Buffs needed a win to keep their hopes of a championship game alive, Shilo Sanders didn’t leave a good impression. Missed tackles, penalties, and, on top of that, constant bickering with the opposition. It’s one thing to do that when you’re on top of the offense. However, in Shilo’s case, it looked amateurish, to say the least. That performance mirrored itself in multiple games. However, the curious bit about Shilo is that he had good games as well. That’s where it becomes confusing when one wonders about his NFL future.

Having a brother like Shedeur (a sure-shot top-5 pick) doesn’t help. Unsurprisingly, Shilo has long been criticized for being a gimcrack product of nepotism. However, Coach Prime felt for his son.

Coach Prime wants to see his sons together in the NFL 

For Deion Sanders, it will be his first time in Boulder without his sons. He will still ensure that the Buffs continue expanding their horizon with another breakout season next year. However, it won’t feel the same. However, keeping the motions, the question is, what is next for Shilo Sanders? We all know what to expect from Shedeur and Travis. But Shilo might be graded under the shadow in an uneven NFL pursuit. But when you have a dad named Deion Sanders, you don’t need to worry.

Coach Sanders had his son Shedeur’s NFL career as a top priority. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have any plans for the other son. While having a chat with Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce, Sanders rooted for both of his sons, ”You are truly the best. Now I just need you to do one thing: I need you to draft those Sanders boys.”

It’s not sure whether or not the brothers get to play together again in a team. Coach Prime will ensure they will rise in their careers, be it individually or in cahoots.