“Could Have Put Me Out There at 55”: NFL Vet Rips Apart Colorado’s OL to Defend Shedeur Sanders’ Mature Performances in 2023

‘The most sacked player’ was a title that Shedeur Sanders carried with him the whole of the 2023 season for getting sacked 52 times, putting his reputation as a QB at stake. However, the moment analysts started dissecting the performance of the Colorado O-line, their cover blew up. The offense of Colorado in the 2023 season has received its fair share of raging denunciation for their lethargic performance, one of the main reasons that led to the 4-8 downfall of the initial 3-0 lead of Colorado. Deion Sanders has done the job of revamping the Colorado O-line to its core. Yet, the criticism of CU’s 2023 O-line is nowhere near over since it portrayed Shedeur Sanders’ ‘mature‘ performance in the negative limelight, as NFL veteran Louis Riddick believes.

Riddick, who has been friends with Deion Sanders since 1991, knows a thing or two about the work his kid has put in through the years. Hence, he still holds that grudge against the 2023 O-line. Just because of the poor offense, Shedeur could not put up his best performance. Almost at a loss of words to criticize the O-line, Riddick said, “It looked mad, which is putting it lightly when we say they had to worst offensive line,” the NFL veteran said during his appearance on ESPN NFL Live.

So much so that he added, “You could have put me out there at 55 years old and just let me stand there and I could have done better than many of their offensive line.” Well, the Colorado O-line disappointed the fans who sold out stadiums even during a losing season. But, walking in the 2024 season, there is immense hope from Colorado. Here’s why.

Colorado set to make it big this season

Last season, Colorado’s O-line was dependent on players like Cormani McClain and Dylan Edwards. Now, despite being good players individually, McClain and Edwards could not contribute much to the O-line as a whole, which was the case with several other players as well.

For head coach Deion Sanders, McClain has been the biggest disappointment, mainly because of his off-field behavior and low attendance in mandatory team activities. Whereas for Edwards, his initial amazing performance seemed to evaporate into thin air after their clash against TCU. For Colorado and its O-line’s relief, both of them have entered the transfer portal and said goodbye to CU, along with several other players who were not performing that exceptionally.

Replacing them, Deion Sanders has brought in some true gems that have shown enough promise until now. Five-star recruit and the No. 1 offensive tackle in the country per ESPN Jordan Seaton is the star at Colorado, with him proving every bit of attention he received worthy at the Colorado spring game. Add other recruits like Ivan Yates, Zach Ownes, and Colton Hood. If there is one thing that Shedeur Sanders doesn’t need to worry about, it would be him getting sacked 52 times this season.