Separated by decades, Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders and coordinator Pat Shurmur form play-calling bond

Updated Nov. 4, 2024 4:01 p.m. ET

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BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — The decades separating Colorado’s Heisman candidate quarterback Shedeur Sanders and NFL coach-turned-college offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur are bridged by one like-minded thing — play-calling.

Sanders trusts Shurmur. Shurmur trusts Sanders. It's a partnership that’s allowing the 21st-ranked Colorado Buffaloes to post prodigious passing numbers as they work on the ground game.

Melding a style Shurmur refers to as a West Coast offense in a no-huddle format inspired by the mountain air of Boulder, the Buffaloes (6-2, 4-1 Big 12) are averaging 323.9 yards passing per contest. Sanders' precise reads and accuracy, along with a cast of wideouts that includes two-way standout Travis Hunter, has vaulted Colorado into the running for not only a league title but possibly even a berth in the College Football Playoff.

Sanders has earned a high level of autonomy under center, with one small addendum: “I really don’t care what we run," the 59-year-old Shurmur cracked, “as long as I know what it is and we have success running it.”

Sanders and Shurmur huddle all the time — at practice, in meetings and especially on the sideline. On game day, they pore over footage on a video tablet to make sure they’re constantly on the same page.

“I can’t really disclose too much on what he’s saying in my ear, but it’s a great relationship,” said Sanders, whose team plays at Texas Tech (6-3, 4-2) on Saturday. “He understands what I’m seeing, what he’s seeing. We talk through everything.”

Sanders, who’s expected to be one of the top picks in the next NFL draft, brings a high I.Q. to the field. It's in turn sharpened Shurmur's skills.

“The better players make everybody look a little smarter,” explained Shurmur, who took over the sole offensive coordinator responsibilities this season after being promoted into the role on a shared basis last year. “It’s been fun for me, our journey together. It’s been short but we’ve got very close, very quickly. We sort of think alike. We’re able to come to the same conclusion about what it should look like.”

In two seasons at Colorado, Sanders has 48 career passing touchdowns, which is 15 away from the school record. His 21 TD passes so far this season are seven away from the single-season school mark. His 2,591 yards passing this season rank eighth in the FBS.

It helps to have the wealth of talent at wideout. Hunter and LaJohntay Wester both have at least seven receiving TDs, marking just the second time the Buffaloes have had a pair of receivers with that many in a season. The last time it happened was 2003 with Derek McCoy (11) and D.J. Hackett (seven). It’s not only those two, either — Jimmy Horn Jr. and Will Sheppard are having big receiving years as well. Hunter leads the way with 757 yards receiving, followed by Wester (501), Horn (434) and Sheppard (390). The Buffaloes have never had four 500-yard receivers in the same season.

“The main thing is (Shurmur) listens,” coach Deion Sanders said earlier this season.

The bond between Shedeur Sanders and Shurmur has been a work in progress since Shurmur arrived on the scene last season as an offensive analyst. He’s traveled around the NFL, holding all sorts of job titles, including head coaching stints with the Cleveland Browns, New York Giants and one game on an interim basis in Philly. Before all of that, he coached on the college level in the late 1980s and throughout the '90s.

This season, the QB-OC tandem has found their rhythm, and just enough of a run game to mix it up (at 80.6 yards rushing per game, Colorado ranks near the bottom in the FBS). This certainly is a benefit as well — Sanders is getting more time to operate behind a revamped offensive line.

“We’re playing better and better each week, but that can all come to a screeching halt if we don’t keep working,” said Shurmur, whose team had surrendered 42 sacks through eight games last season and only 26 this year. “If you don’t try to make today the best day of the week, it's going to blow up on you. He understands that. He’s done that his whole life, and I think that’s why he'll have a bright future.”

The respect is mutual.

“We definitely trust each other,” Shedeur Sanders said. “He sees things a certain way, I see things a certain way, and then we’re able to communicate. ... I can understand his thought process, and vice versa. So it’s very complimentary, and I love it.”

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