Brandon Marshall Pushes Back On Shedeur Sanders' Flex That Altitude Is The Hardest Challenge Moving From JSU To Colorado
Shedeur Sanders has played his entire college career in Jackson, Mississippi and played high school ball in Texas. Now he's playing in Colorado.
The air hits different in Boulder.
Jackson State sits at an elevation of less than 300 feet. Cedar Hill, Texas sits at an elevation of 880 feet. The University of Colorado sits at an elevation of 5,318 feet.
It's quite the contrast playing for the Buffaloes than the Tigers, or high school ball in the Lone Star State. And Sanders says that difference is the only thing that can stop him from success at his new program, which doesn't really make sense.
Shedeur, son of Deion, is going to be the starting quarterback for Colorado this fall. Not only was it obviously going to end up that way, his dad said so during an unprecedented news conference.
He started two years at Jackson State and put up wicked numbers as sophomore last year. Sanders threw for 3,732 yards and 40 touchdowns with only six interceptions in the SWAC.
The Pac-12 is a different caliber of play, but all of the intangibles are there for the former four-star recruit to find immediate success. He can sling it.
Sanders doesn't lack talent and he certainly doesn't lack confidence. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree in that regard.
During a recent appearance on the Paper Route podcast with Brandon Marshall and Ashley Nicole Moss, Sanders made it clear that the goal is not to win just once or twice. He wants to win every single game. That's the competitor in him.
The goal is to win everything. Every game. What else? You think I’m training, everybody’s training in the hot sun, cold air up there, high altitude— to lose? I don’t like those type of questions because who trains to lose? It boils down to ‘okay, I got great players, you got great players, who’s gonna execute the best?’
Although he has been at Colorado for less than four months, Sanders feels like everything is coming together. From the work in the weight room and conditioning, to mindset, he feels great.
As for the heightened pressure that comes with his new school, Sanders is only focused on what he can control.
The microscope is far over there. I’m focused on me and my camp and my team and stuff like that. By the time Week 1 comes, I’m gonna have my guys ready to get out there and play. This is the time right now just to build the relationships, to really learn about your teammates, know what you can trust, have them be able to trust you in any type of situation. So it's really just bonding right now, bonding, working out, training.
If there is one thing that's going to slow Sanders down, it would be the altitude. That's what he says is the biggest change between his time in the FCS and first year on the FBS level, which is strange because he has had plenty of time to adjust.
Marshall, who played in Denver, was also quick to push back and even noted a hint of cockiness.
The linebackers ain't a little bit bigger, the cornerbacks ain't a little faster?
Sanders acknowledged that Marshall is right, with a laugh, but didn't seem phased. He's ready for what's coming and only the altitude can slow him down, apparently.
The full exchange can be found here: