Keeler: CU Buffs retiring Shedeur Sanders’ number? Darian Hagan, Kordell Stewart better be next
BOULDER Soon You want to talk records Fine Darian Hagan put up a - - mark as CU s starting quarterback Kordell Stewart went - - as the Buffs QB If Shedeur Sanders No jersey is retired for eternity at Folsom Field then Hagan s No and Stewart s No better be next It s just so disrespectful former CU great J J Flannigan advised me by phone Tuesday in so countless solutions For Hunter CU s second Heisman Trophy winner Folsom immortality was fait accompli Sanders son of CU coach Deion Sanders and the best pure passer in Buffs QB history maybe would ve joined him Eventually Welcome to where eventually means in a limited days The Buffs are retiring Shedeur s No and Travis Hunter s No at Saturday s spring contest The premise is fine The timing is bonkers For one thing the younger Sanders and Hunter officially hung up their CU helmets only four-and-a-half months ago at the Alamo Bowl While the Buffs capped off a - season it was on the whole a night to forget If that seems like a mighty quick turnaround for a jersey retirement you re right the late great Rashaan Salaam s No was honored years after he won the Heisman Trophy Byron White and Bobby Anderson had to wait a year to see their numbers retired Joe Romig had to wait two And while we re on the subject of waiting the Buffs traditionally retire jerseys about as often as the Army hands out Astronaut badges Before this week CU had only honored four such players and only one Buff Salaam has been recognized for their efforts between - 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are long past due And justifiably frustrated Flannigan was talking to Bieniemy on Monday night after CU publicized the double-jersey ceremony And he was like Come on now reel us back in ' Flannigan reported He was not pleased At all Flannigan was so disappointed that he went on Facebook to post that he d never show up on that campus again until the athletes that built that venture get various semblance of respect from the current coach We have officially been bought and sold for popularity I don t know how a large number of people texted me Tuesday and stated Man I ve been wanting to say that I m glad you noted it ' Flannigan recalled Soon Ex-Buffs QB Joel Klatt who s had Coach Prime s back from Day described Fox Sports First Things First he d warned AD Rick George that early jersey retirement wasn t going to land well with his peers Klatt explained George stated him Listen these guys changed the trajectory of our effort They saved our activity in a lot of avenues He s not wrong College football is on the cusp of another seismic shift The championship is run by television networks now Nobody loves Deion the way TV loves Deion Win or lose Flannigan has known George for almost years now George helped recruit the kids under McCartney who put CU on the front page again in the late s Which only leaves him more confused This is not about me being mad at Rick Flannigan stressed I m disappointed in the decision Everything I say is reported out of love not hate Not anger None of that It s reported out of love It means I love my university He s got nothing against Shedeur or Travis either Heck he s even planning on taking the th off from work to go watch the CU duo get taken in the first round of the NFL Draft I want to see those guys go high in the draft and I want to see them go to a unit they deserve and where they can thrive and build their brands and their athletic abilities Flannigan stated I m rooting for those guys This is not about me not rooting for them It s about fairness It s about where you set the bar and why Hagan shined on the biggest stages imaginable steering the Buffs to two national title games and winning one of them Stewart threw arguably the single greatest pass in CU history won a lot and helped define what the position could be for a generation Nobody in black and gold has ever slung the rock around like Shedeur But CU s had QBs who left just as rich a legacy If there s room for there s room for And Want more sports news Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver s teams
