Shedeur Sanders loves Coach Prime’s fatherly support, but knows ‘I’ve gotta soar on my own now’

FRISCO, Texas — Shedeur Sanders took a FaceTime call from his father during his Friday interview with Tennessee Titans top brass. That’s not exactly standard operating procedure when it comes to having an in-person interview with an NFL team — magnified by the fact that the Titans have the No. 1 overall pick and a desperate need at quarterback.

If Sanders can impress, the pieces would seem to fit for him to land in Nashville.

But when your father is a Pro Football Hall of Famer and one of the most relevant figures in the sport today after guiding CU’s two-year turnaround from perennial conference cellar-dweller a 9-win campaign — while creating a buzz unseen for college football in the Rocky Mountain region for three decades — you tend to give some slack and acknowledge the situation is different.

Still, Shedeur Sanders knows that as he enters the NFL, he must stand on his own two feet. The support from his family will always be there. But after playing for his father in various capacities in high school and at two college stops — Jackson State and CU — Shedeur will have to be his own man in the NFL.

“Dad, he kept calling me,” Shedeur Sanders said. “I told him at the end, ‘Hey, it’s over with.’ I’ve gotta soar on my own now.

“So of course, he missing me right now.”

Letting a beloved child leave the nest isn’t easy, even for Coach Prime. But based on the manner in which Shedeur Sanders handled an array of questions from media and NFL teams alike, it seems like the player-turned coach prepared him well.

But unlike his brother Shilo, Shedeur Sanders won’t be practicing at the Shrine Bowl standouts include players that are at positions the Broncos need, instead choosing to focus on meetings. He hasn’t even decided if he will throw at the Scouting Combine or his Pro Day.

“It was definitely tough not being out there, but I came here for a purpose, for a reason, to meet with the team so they can understand me and get to know me,” he said.

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There’s plenty of advice going into Shedeur Sanders’ process, and yes, his father will be involved — although there are some boundaries. But any criticism of his father being too involved in the process will meet with a cold shoulder from the younger Sanders.

“Like, I ain’t know your parents being involved and wanting the best for you is a problem, right?” he said. “I think as parents, each and every one would want the best for their kids. So, the fact that he has the opportunity to do that for me and he has the best quarterback in the country, he’s supposed to do that.”

Besides, when you have a Hall of Famer like Deion Sanders in. your corner …

“Getting his knowledge of everything is almost like a cheat code,” Shedeur Sanders said.