Booger McFarland agrees with Deion Sanders, says Colorado will be better team without Travis Hunter, Shedeur Sanders

Deion Sanders made headlines with his statement at Big 12 Media Days claiming Colorado would be a better team in 2025 despite losing stars Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders. But according to ESPN analyst Booger McFarland, it isn’t that far-fetched.

McFarland made an appearance on SportsCenter where he explained that he actually agrees with the Buffaloes coach. He sees the attention that Hunter and Shedeur Sanders received as taking the spotlight away from other talented players who may have gone overlooked.

“I think there was so much attention focused on Shedeur Sanders, Travis Hunter and even his other son, Shiloh,” McFarland said. “I think that took some of the air out of a lot of the other players. Let’s not forget, they got a five-star left tackle in Jordan Seaton. He’s gonna be a stalwart at the left tackle position. I think they’re gonna run the football a lot better because the emphasis is gonna be there.

“…I think Colorado may not have the star power, but I think they’re gonna be a better team. This is life after Shedeur, life after Travis. If you’re Deion, this is the point that you were kind of looking forward to because now you can show everyone, ‘We’re not just a one or two-player team.'”

Hunter is coming off of winning the Heisman Trophy this past season as one of the few players in college football history to play both offense and defense. He led the team with 96 catches for 1,258 yards and 15 touchdowns.

The do-it-all star also had 36 tackles, four interceptions, 11 passes defended and a forced fumbled on defense. He totaled 2,625 snaps in his two seasons in Boulder, leading the FBS.

Shedeur Sanders was equally impactful, leading the country with a 74% completion rate and leading the Big 12 with 4,134 yards passing and 37 touchdowns. The Buffaloes added Liberty transfer Kaidon Salter and four-star freshman Julian Lewis in the QB room, with one expected to be Shedeur’s successor.

Booger McFarland believes the winner of that battle will determine exactly how good Colorado can be. But he likes what they brought in defensively through the transfer portal.

“Ultimately, it’s gonna come down to who’s going to be the quarterback,” he said. “Is it gonna be Kaidon Salter, a dual-threat quarterback who comes in from a transfer standpoint, or Julian Lewis? I think that will determine where they go from an offensive standpoint. Defensively, I love what they’re doing over there. They get a big defensive tackle in Jehiem Oatis that will help them stop the run.