CFB world reacts as Shedeur Sanders becomes the first QB named on the Davey O'Brien watchlist since 1997: "Future GOAT" "4 wins incoming"

There's a huge spotlight on the Colorado Buffaloes and quarterback Shedeur Sanders as the program makes its first foray into the Big 12. On Thursday, the maverick quarterback was named to the prestigious Davey O'Brien watchlist to add to his growing stature.

The Davey O'Brien Foundation presents the award that recognizes the best quarterback in the nation. It was named after a quarterback of the same name who won the Heisman Trophy in 1938 as a TCU player.

Shedeur Sanders made a case for his inclusion in an average Colorado team that finished the season 4-8. He threw for 3,230 yards on 69.3% completion, resulting in 27 touchdowns and just three interceptions.

Being named to the watchlist is a big deal and five of the last seven winners have gone on to win the Heisman Trophy. This includes last year's winner, ex-LSU Tigers quarterback Jayden Daniels.

College football fans on X had mixed reactions to Shedeur Sanders becoming only the seventh player in Colorado history to be named on the award's watch list. These reactions were rather contemptuous of the Shedeur being named in the list.

Some fans, though, felt as if the Buffs quarterback deserved the honor of being named on the watchlist.

"Future GOAT," one fan tweeted.

"Hopefully @HeismanTrophy on deck too for number 2 @ShedeurSanders. Got my bet ticket on Super Bowl Sunday," another fan tweeted.

"We know bro can ball, we just hope the O line can protect him this year," one fan tweeted.

Shedeur Sanders seeks to improve his game in 2024

While coach Deion Sanders' team struggled massively after an encouraging 3-0 start to last season, quarterback Shedeur Sanders was like a well-oiled machine. He often made tough plays look easy.

One aspect of the campaign stood out though, that he was the most sacked quarterback in the FBS (53 sacks). The constant hits exposed him to more injuries, forcing him to sit out at the end of the season.

During an episode of his 2 Legendary podcast, Shedeur Sanders addressed which aspects of his game he has been working on during the preseason. He also addressed how being sacked many times affected his style of play.

"I would definitely say, one, really just working on footwork and everything, and rhythm, knowing the pre-snap, knowing actually post-snap reality of what's going to happen," Sanders said. "Just throughout the play, just go through progressions, and work on footwork, really.

"What I'm saying is, when you get sacked so many times... over and over and over and over, your footwork's gonna be different than someone who hasn't gotten sacked that many times. People can say, 'Oh, his footwork was off, he wasn't throwing a rhythm'. They're not sitting there when that 275-pound, 300-pound tackle is running after you."

As promised last season, Coach Prime has recruited a whole new O-line to protect Shedeur Sanders. College football fans might get to see a different aspect of the quarterback's game that they were not exposed to last time out.