Shedeur Sanders Receives Wake-Up Call as ESPN Highlights Will Howard and Others With Bold Prediction

Shedeur Sanders is having a rough preseason. First, he was downgraded to an “honorable mention” quarterback in the Preseason All-American honors. But now, there’s an even bigger snub that’s making Buffs fans rethink their playoff dreams.

On August 7th, ESPN dropped a list of 25 college football players who could play crucial roles in their team’s playoff runs. Billy Connelly put together this list, highlighting players who could have a “long spell of greatness.” And guess what? Shedeur Sanders didn’t make the cut.

The On3 sports platform shared a portion of this list, focusing on the “Top 10 players that will determine the College Football Playoff race per @espn.” As expected, the list was full of quarterbacks, with Ohio State’s Will Howard taking the top spot. Following him were Michigan’s Alex Orji and Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel. In fact, the top 8 spots were dominated by quarterbacks like Jalen Milroe and Jaxson Dart. But notably absent were Shedeur Sanders and Georgia’s Carson Beck, both of whom are considered top picks for next year’s NFL draft.

However, for Buffs fans, there’s a bit of solace in seeing Travis Hunter on the list. He managed to snag the 25th spot for his unique ‘two-way talent.’ While Hunter and Sanders, together are expected to lead the Buffaloes to a strong season in the Big 12, this latest snub is quite a reality check.

Now, it’s not just ESPN—Shedeur is getting overlooked left and right, raising serious doubts about his recent “Super Bowl” claim.

Can Shedeur Sanders rise above the noise?

Coming off a rough 4-8 season where he was the most sacked player in college football with 52 sacks, his talent wasn’t really questioned until now. He was a top 10 player in early draft predictions, with his 69% pass completion rate and 3,230 passing yards last year.

But things took a turn this July during the Buffs’ Big 12 Media Day when Sanders got a bit cocky, saying, “I know we’re everybody’s Super Bowl.” Now, this didn’t sit well with experts. ESPN’s Paul Finebaum didn’t hold back, brutally stating, “Shedeur, you are not. You are an easy win nowadays… and quite frankly, you haven’t done anything since other than crash and burn.” Soon, sports creator Frank Michael Smith also echoed this sentiment, bluntly saying, “Shedeur is setting his team up for a disaster… This is delusional. Forget the Super Bowl. They are not the team they think they are.”

Now, it’s not just the team’s playoff chances that are in doubt—Shedeur’s ambitious dreams are now under scrutiny too. Fellow QBs are surpassing him in every way. On August 3rd, CFB Home released Heisman odds, and Dillon Gabriel topped the list with +700 odds. Gabriel was also named the All-American Offensive Player of the Year. And right behind him is Georgia’s Carson Beck with +750 odds, who also secured the 2nd team QB spot in the All-American honors.

Looks like Shedeur has a lot to prove this season!