Shilo Sanders was criticized by his coach and father for his poor tackling. This honest feedback from his dad, Deion Sanders, was exactly what the Colorado free safety needed to hear, and he has taken it seriously.
In his comeback from a broken forearm, Shilo called his performance in Colorado’s 31-28 defeat to No. 17 Kansas State the “worst game of my life.” During that game, the defense allowed Kansas State’s DJ Giddens to rush for 182 yards, and receiver Jayce Brown caught a crucial 50-yard touchdown pass with just 2:14 left in the game.
“I’m the Ziploc of the defense, I can’t be going out there, not being on my game,” Shilo Sanders said Tuesday after practice as the Buffaloes (4-2, 2-1 Big 12) get ready for their game against Arizona this weekend. “I need to be even more locked in.”
After the Kansas State game, his dad gave a straightforward assessment: “I thought he played horrible. I thought he was rusty.”
This was Shilo Sanders’ first game back since September 7 at Nebraska, where he injured his forearm and had to have surgery. He recorded 10 tackles against Kansas State, but he also missed many chances to stop the Wildcats.
“I know I played horrible. He knows I played horrible,” Sanders said. “That’s what happened.”
This week, Shilo is focusing on the basics—paying attention to small details and improving his technique.
“I know I’m good at football. I know I’ve been doing this for a long time. I know how to tackle,” he said. “I’ve made a lot of tackles in my career. One game, I’m not going to let everybody (be like), ‘Oh, you’re trash. You can’t do this. You can’t do that.’
“You can’t tell me what I can’t do if I’ve done it already, and you probably haven’t done it. I’ve done it. I know what I’m capable of.”
He acknowledged that part of his tackling problems might have come from being too excited in his return.
“I’m trying to just knock somebody’s head off going full speed,” Sanders said. “But I still have to be patient.”
While he was out, Carter Stoutmire played in his position alongside Cam’Ron Silmon-Craig. The Buffaloes won three games in a row, allowing only 20 second-half points combined, before losing to Kansas State.
“You work to get back, then you get back, and you have the worst game of your life, man, it’s really disappointing for me,” Sanders said. “I’ve been seeing everybody turn on me and stuff like that.
But I’m not worried about none of that, because as soon as you do good, they’re going to be right back on your side.
“But I can’t be going out there, not on my game. I’m the free safety. If I mess up, everybody’s going to see it.”
At 4-2, the Buffaloes have the same record as last season in Deion Sanders’ first year in Boulder. However, they ended last year with six straight losses.
“We’ve got to keep going with it. We can’t just quit now,” Shilo Sanders said. “I can’t just quit now, just because I had the worst game of my life.”
