
The Colorado Buffaloes hired Deion Sanders as their head coach following a disappointing 1-11 season in 2022. Right away, “Coach Prime” brought an energy to the the program that Boulder hadn’t seen in a long time.
As the 2026 NFL Draft gets closer, here are all the former Buffaloes players that played for Sanders that ended up being drafted. All four of them were taken in the 2025 NFL Draft. Colorado did not have a single player drafted from 2022-2024.
Travis Hunter played for Colorado from 2023-2024. Hunter took the college football world by storm with his elite two-way skillset. In his two seasons with the Buffs, Hunter had 66 total tackles, seven interceptions, 16 passes defended, three tackles for loss, and one forced fumble on the defensive side of the ball.
On offense, he had 153 receptions for 1,979 yards and 20 receiving touchdowns.
Hunter won the 2024 Heisman Trophy and was selected No. 2 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars. As a rookie in 2025, Hunter had 28 receptions for 298 yards and a receiving touchdown on offense. On defense he had 15 total tackles and three passes defended.
Hunter’s rookie season was cut short after seven games when he suffered a torn LCL.
Shedeur Sanders played for his dad at Colorado in 2023 and 2024 as the Buffs starting quarterback. In those two seasons, he threw for 7,364 yards and 64 touchdowns. Sanders won the 2024 Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year and was selected in the 5th round of the 2025 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns.
Sanders played in eight games for the Browns, throwing for 1,400 yards and seven touchdowns with 10 interceptions. He is currently in a battle for the starting quartebrack position with the Browns as they enter the 2026 season.
LaJohntay Wester played his final collegiate season for the Buffaloes in 2024 after being with the FAU Owls the previous four seasons. In Boulder, Wester had 74 receptions for 931 yards and 10 receiving touchdowns. He also returned punts and kicks.
Wester was selected in the 6th round of the 2025 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens. Wester was primarily a punt/kick returner for the Ravens. He had 16 punt returns for an average of 12.4 yards and 10 kick returns for an average of 24.6 yards.
Jimmy Horn Jr. played the final two years of his college football career with Colorado in 2023 and 2024. In these two seasons, Horn had 95 receptions for 1,008 yards and seven receiving touchdowns.
Horn also returned punts and kicks. He averaged 23.1 yards on punt returns and 6.4 yards and on punt returns. Horn was selected in the 6th round of the 2025 NFL Draft by the Carolina Panthers.
As a rookie, Horn had 11 receptions for 108 yards.
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