Shilo Sanders can’t wait to get out of college football! As part of the 2019 recruiting class, Coach Prime’s son was already eligible for the NFL draft this year. However, COVID gave him one more year of college eligibility for the 2024 season to play in his father’s team, along with his star quarterback brother, Shedeur Sanders. Duty calls but the 24-year-old is at the crossroads in life, “You can’t just venture off and do your own thing.”

The self-proclaimed CEO of the “Headache Gang,” Shilo Sanders is a considerable force in the Buffs’ defense. But the question is if he’s thrilled about being a college player at 24. The Buffs’ safety isn’t getting any younger, but family bindings are more important than anything else for him. 

The Colorado Buffaloes are sweating it outdoors on their first practice for the 2024 fall camp. For some players, including Shilo Sanders, this is the last first day of practice in college football. But he’s eager to get off as portrayed in the new YouTube episode on Reach The People Media on Tuesday which highlighted Coach Prime putting the Buffs CBs through the ringer.

Annoyed by still having to play in college, Shilo said, “I know they got me in this dumb yellow jersey even though I don’t even need to be on one.” When asked how he feels about leaving college football, he said, “It should have been over.” He added, “Bro y’all act like I don’t know I’m 24. Y’all think I want to be playing college right now? No.” 

Shilo was the Buffaloes’ leading tackler last season (70) and was the only defensive back in the country with four or more forced fumbles. However, for the Buffs, the season proved to be underwhelming. They finished bottom of the pile in the Pac-12 with a dismal 4-8 record. As such if Shilo had declared himself for the draft, there was a chance he could have been left disappointed… This could have been a big reason why Prime Time wanted Shilo and his brother to stay for another year in Boulder. Not only does this offer both a chance to improve their draft chances next year, but it also allows the Buffs to improve from last season.

So at the moment, Shilo Sanders’ hands seem to be tied. Besides, the Sanders stick together, and Shilo knows that. During the conversation, he brought up the fact that college football is like a “family business” for the Sanders, that you just can’t leave behind. He said, “You have a family restaurant, you can’t just venture off and do your own thing. You got to stick with the family as long as you can.” Indeed, the Sanders have established their presence in college football. Coach Prime and his sons were together at Jackson State before all three of them moved to the Buffs.

Coach Prime’s family is a brand in college football itself. In that spirit, he’s also venturing into the podcasting business. Just yesterday, on July 29th, Shedeur announced that he will be partnering with Overtime for his new podcast called 2 Legendary. This podcast will be an extension of his clothing brand SL2Legendary which he’s built over the last couple of years. 

The whole father-sons’ bond in Colorado is a brand. And Shilo knows better than to leave them when he still has some more family time in him. But what’s waiting for him when his final college football season ends?

Next year, both Shedeur and Shilo will enter the NFL draft. There is no saying they would play together anymore, so it looks like the brothers and Deion Sanders will have to fare on their own. During their speech on Big 12 media day in Las Vegas, the 22-year-old QB said, “Who knows? We may be on the same team next year.” Backing his brother, Shilo said, “We’ll probably be on the same team again in the future.” But how can he be sure?

For one, Shilo Sanders can’t wait to get out of Coach Prime’s shadow because it seemed he couldn’t. He jokingly said, “I was excited in high school when I thought that was our last time playing together because he’s my dad and he’s been coaching me forever… Then he started coaching college. Then he started coaching me in college… And then after that, we came here. So I don’t know when it’s gonna end.” Perhaps it’ll end when Shilo transitions to the NFL because Coach Prime had declared that he would rather coach college kids than professional players. 

Coach Prime has no desire to follow his sons into the NFL

Even though Coach Prime believes his sons will be among the top picks in the NFL draft, he is not planning to follow them into joining the pro league. So far, Sanders has worked with sons during their college career, but once they make the step up to the NFL, he plans on staying and building a team at Colorado.

Many thought that the role as the Buffs HC could be a stepping stone to the NFL for Sanders, but according to him, that is not the case. “I tell them the truth. I tell them I’m a father, not a baby daddy. I don’t follow my kids,” Sanders said as he addressed the media after CU’s Spring Game on 28 April.

He also reiterated his desire to improve the Colorado football program. “So I do not plan on following my kids to the NFL. I have work to do here.” So it looks like Shilo will be free from his father as early as the NFL draft next year. The 24-year-old will hope to make a mark in the upcoming season with the Buffs to not only boost his draft chances, but help his father’s ambitions in Boulder.