Deion Sanders Honors Colorado RB's Scholarship in Video After Medical Retirement

Colorado football plans to honor running back Charlie Offerdahl's scholarship this academic year despite his medical retirement from playing, head coach Deion Sanders said in a video posted Wednesday to his Instagram.

"I know you're stepping away from this, but we're going to continue your scholarship, right?" Sanders says in the video.

The coach went on to tell someone off camera, "Make sure that happens. Continue his scholarship. Pay for everything for him because I love him, he deserves it."

Offerdahl played three seasons for Colorado between 2022 and 2024. Last season he recorded 26 carries for 119 rushing yards and scored the first touchdown of his college career during a Nov. 16 game against Utah.

The incoming senior told his teammates in the video that he had decided to end his playing career due to health concerns stemming from multiple concussions, including one he suffered last season.

"Just how serious this last concussion was, and how many I've had leading up to it, it was pretty scary for me and my family," Overdahl told his teammates.

He added that he was in the process of applying to dental school, and told his teammates to come to him if they needed "some grills or some veneers" in six or seven years.

Overdahl's announcement came days after Sanders revealed that he had been diagnosed with bladder cancer earlier this year. The Colorado coach underwent bladder removal surgery is now cancer-free, his doctor told reporters on Monday.