FRISCO, Texas – Colorado safety Shilo Sanders’s brother, Shedeur, is one of college football’s top quarterbacks and expects to be a first-round selection in next month’s NFL draft.
Shilo’s situation is different. He doesn’t know when or if he’ll be drafted.
If the uncertainty stresses him, he’s not showing it.
“Right now, there’s a tight competition between us to see who’s No.1 in the son rankings,” Shilo said, laughing. Colorado head coach Deion Sanders often jokes about ranking his five children on social media.
When asked to describe the relationship with Shedeur, Shilo Sanders said, “He’s a good guy. I need to make sure he’s telling these scouts we need to play on the same team. We’re still a package deal.”
Shilo enjoyed himself March 20 at Big 12 Pro Day, whether he was being interviewed by radio stations, making videos with social media influencers, or taking selfies with a small group of kids before the defensive back workouts began at the Ford Center at The Star.
Shilo did not participate in the combine workouts.
“Shilo is a good player and a good human being,” said Herman Smith III, who played with Shilo at Jackson State and Colorado. “He brings that great energy. In football, you have to have fun. He’s the definition of having fun.”
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Shilo Sanders said he’s happy for his brother’s success because he’s watched how hard he’s worked to become an elite player with a bank account to match. According to On3.com, Shedeur Sanders had the highest NIL valuation in college football in 2024, with $6.2 million. The website listed Shilo Sanders’s valuation at $1 million.
“One thing I like about Coach Prime is he don’t like to surround himself with jealous people. That’s real,” Colorado wide receiver Jimmy Horn said. “I’m pretty sure his kids are the same way. Ain’t nobody jealous of nobody. At the end of the day, they’re brothers. That’s the kind of bond they have.”
It was never more evident than in the final minute of a 41-27 win over Texas Tech on Nov. 9, 2024. Shilo Sanders returned a fumble six yards for a touchdown and proceeded to do the “Deion Shuffle” in the end zone. Shedeur Sanders jogged to the end zone and patted his brother on the helmet to congratulate him.
As they returned to the bench, a Texas Tech ball boy swatted the ball out of Shilo Sanders’s hand. He quickly retrieved it and kept walking, but Shedeur Sanders confronted the ball boy, as did Bucky Sanders, the eldest brother who handles much of his father’s social media.
“They’re gonna clown each other. They’re going to push each other. And if they’re going against each other, they’re going to go hard and talk trash to each other,” Colorado wide receiver LaJohntay Wester said. “That’s brotherly competition. I do the same thing to my little brother.”
Shilo Sanders, who turned 25 in February, played six college seasons. He started at South Carolina before transferring to Jackson State to join his dad and brother. When Deion Sanders accepted the Colorado job, Shilo and Shedeur followed him.
Last season, Shilo Sanders had 67 tackles, a sack, a forced fumble, two fumble recoveries, and two pass deflections. In 2023, he had 67 tackles, four forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, and an 80-yard interception for a touchdown against rival Colorado State.
Shilo is a physical player, a thumper, who enjoys contact. The self-appointed leader of The Headache Gang loves delivering big hits and flexing.
That will be his ticket to the NFL.
“Some days you’ll be running, and you can feel his presence,” Horn said. “Shilo will knock your head off if he catches you slipping. You gotta keep your head on a swivel when you’re around him.
“When he’s hot one of them days at practice, he’ll say, ‘I’m on timing today. If you’re in my way I’m going to smash you.’ ”
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Scouts know Shlio can be good against the run, but the NFL is a passing league, and safeties must cover receivers and 6-foot-5 260-pound tight ends with speed. During the East-West Shrine game practices in January, Shilo received a litany of criticism on social media when he was shown getting beaten during one-on-one passing drills.
Those drills are designed for the quarterback and receiver to shine. There’s no pass rush, and the defensive backs aren’t playing a concept like they would on a regular play.
Still, teams must feel comfortable with his age and coverage skills.
“I really feel like I belong in another era like in the 90s when my dad played,” Shilo Sanders said. “Play near the line of scrimmage and hit, but I live in reality.”
Shilo Sanders played well in the East-West Shrine game and expressed his frustration with critics afterward.
“If you just hate me or want to hate me…Paint me in a bad picture; they do that to our President. They do that to everybody, you know?” he said. “So I’m not going to be safe from it. But it does get aggravating whenever you put in that work, and you’re working on your craft, and [there’s] people just steadily destroying you.”
“I just care about what the scouts think. I care about what Coach Prime thinks, what my family thinks, and I got a good circle around me, so I really don’t let that stuff affect me. It’s just really stupid how people always try to destroy you, and I don’t do nothing bad to nobody.”
Shilo Sanders said he’s spent the last six weeks training for Colorado’s Pro Day on Saturday, much of it working on the technical aspects of running the 40-yard dash.
The difference between getting drafted and being a priority free agent could be running 4.4 or 4.5. Pressure, though, does not exist in Shilo Sanders’s world.
The only life he’s ever known is being the son of a Hall of Fame football player and the expectations that accompany that.
“I know what I have to do,” he said, “and I’m going to do it.”
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