On Monday evening, Colorado football announced that the Buffs will officially retire uniforms 2 and 12 to honor Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter at Saturday’s annual spring game.
Hunter left Colorado as one of the most decorated players in college football history, and after being the most prominent two-way player in a generation, retiring the No. 12 feels appropriate for most.
However, there are plenty of detractors when it comes to Sanders’s jersey number getting the same kind of treatment. Sure, he had an impressive career, but was winning the Johnny Unitas Award and a Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year worthy of having a single-digit number retired?
The comments section of the announcement was completely unhinged, and frankly, there are some sound arguments among the group.
Here’s a look at some of the top comments:
Now, it’s not as if Sanders didn’t do anything to earn the honor, as he was very successful as an individual player at Colorado.
Sanders was named the Johnny Unitas Award winner and the unanimous pick for Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year this past season, earning him multiple first and second-team All-American selections.
He completed 74.0% of his attempts in 2024, tossing for 4,134 yards with 37 touchdowns and 10 interceptions on the year. Over his two seasons in Boulder, Sanders completed 71.8% of his passes for 7,364 yards with 64 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.
However, his 13-11 record as a stareter is going to be a point of contention with fans, and given some of the players that have yet to have their numbers retired, it does feel like it lowers the bar a bit.
Sanders and Hunter will represent the fifth and sixth players to have their jersey numbers retired in Colorado school history, joining Byron White (No. 24), Joe Romig (No. 67), Bobby Anderson (No. 11), and Rashaan Salaam (No. 19).
The ceremony will take place at 2:30 p.m. at the start of Colorado’s spring game, which will be aired nationally on ESPN2.
