Colorado CFB Alum Says Retiring Shedeur, Hunter's Numbers Is 'Celebrating Mediocrity'

One player from Colorado's championship-winning team in 1990 was less than thrilled to see the Buffaloes retire Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders' jerseys.

"We're celebrating mediocrity," the player said to David Ubben of The Athletic. "Where are the wins? Where are the top-10 finishes? Go Buffs for life, but you have to just hold your nose and deal with it."

The anonymous player also vented about how criticism of the school's decision is being filtered.

"If you b---h and complain, you look jealous and envious, and you're just a hater," he said to Ubben.

In the case of Hunter, it shouldn't matter all that much he's only a few months removed from leaving Boulder. He won a Heisman Trophy, and his ability to excel on both sides of the ball only added to his legend.

Colorado's 13-12 record shouldn't be held against Hunter, either, when he was unquestionably one of the greatest players in program history.

Ultimately, what's the difference between doing it now and waiting?

The university didn't retire Rashaan Salaam's No. 19 jersey until after the 1994 Heisman Trophy winner died.

Hunter was a shoo-in to have his number retired, whether it was sooner or later, after taking home Heisman honors last season.

It's a different story for Sanders, who didn't build a résumé that stands out within a historical context.

Sanders threw for 7,364 yards and 64 touchdowns, and he's the all-time FBS leader in completion percentage (71.8) going back to at least 1956. As a senior, he was the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year and the recipient of the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award.

Sanders didn't make an All-American team, though. He wasn't a Heisman finalist, finishing eighth in the 2024 voting. He didn't stay at Colorado long enough to break Sefo Liufau's career passing record (9,763 yards). And the Buffaloes didn't have the kind of team success that could make up for his lack of individual accolades.

Colorado head coach Deion Sanders argued "we wouldn't have this discussion" about Shedeur's jersey retirement if he had a different last name. His critics will agree with that, but from the opposite perspective.

Fair or not, a lot of people are going to perceive Shedeur is being immortalized because he's the son of the coach.

"With Shedeur, it's way too easy to say, 'Would this happen if he had a different name on his back?'" said Fox Sports' Joel Klatt, who also played at Colorado, in an interview with Ubben. "And that becomes a disservice to Shedeur."

If Sanders goes on to have a great NFL career and the Coach Prime era is even more fruitful for the Buffs, then retiring Shedeur's jersey further down the line might've been received differently.