Deion Sanders Unfazed by Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter Departures, Drops Bold Statement

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Nate Lunak | Last updated Jul 9, 2025 5:08 PM ET

There's no doubt that in 2024, led by head coach Deion Sanders, the Colorado Buffaloes were impressive, putting together an overall record of 9-4, while going 7-2 in Big 12 matchups.

Of course, much of that success fell on the shoulders of Hesiman Trophy-winning two-way star Travis Hunter and starting quarterback Shedeur Sanders, who are no longer with the team after each being selected in the 2025 NFL Draft.

It will remain to be seen how the Buffaloes perform without those two stars, but on Wednesday, during the Big 12 Media Day, Deion revealed why he thinks Colorado will be just fine.

"Nobody can fill those shoes... They were great players, we have a better team," Sanders said at the 3:44 mark. "There's a difference between great players and a great team. We have a better team."

Throughout the offseason, Colorado has added a tremendous amount of talent, specifically through the transfer portal, landing 31 commitments for a group that ranks No. 23 in the nation, per On3.

To fill the hole left by Shedeur, the Buffaloes have found themselves in an intense quarterback battle between transfer Kaidon Salter and true freshman Julian Lewis, with Deion also stating, "I don't know which one is going to start" on Wednesday.

Of course, trying to replace Hunter's production serves as an entirely new problem considering his effectiveness on both sides of the ball, but multiple wide receiver additions such as Hykeem Williams and Joseph Williams certainly won't hurt.

They also landed several players to do so on defense, including cornerbacks Noah King and Tyrecus Davis, who have a tremendous amount of work cut out for themselves.

It will remain to be seen if Deion's claim about having a better team becomes true, as Charlie Strella of Buffaloes Wire predicts that Colorado will take a significant step back and finish the regular season going 6-6 and 3-6 in Big 12 games.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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