"He was actually in middle school": Shedeur Sanders' QB coach reveals how he met Coach Prime's son

It would be surprising to hear that Shedeur Sanders’ first quarterbacks coach was never his dad Deion Sanders. His insane arm strength and accurate throws were inspired by longtime QB coach Darrell Colbert Jr., who has been associated with him for almost a decade.

While speaking to NFL insider Tom Pelissero on "The Rich Eisen Show" on Thursday, the former SMU QB, better known as QB coach in college circles, shared his first meetup with Shedeur. He explained how they developed a mutual bond and worked out all these years.

Colbert played at SMU where he met Coach Prime's older son Deion Sanders Jr. That's when he first interacted with Shedeur, who used to come around and occasionally throw at practice.

“He was actually in middle school and I was at SMU," Colbert said. "So his oldest brother, who does all the video stuff, Deion Jr., me and him went to SMU together. He was, like two years older than me.”

“So when I came in, me and him created a good relationship together. And so Shedeur, even back then, Shedeur used to always want to just come work out. So he used to come work out, you know, of course, his brother played receiver at the time. So he would come to SMU and throw with him. And so when I got there, me and him created a relationship. He would come out and come throw with me when I was out there throwing or come work out with me."

Both of their mothers lived in Houston, so it paved the way for the duo to catch up more often. Whenever Colbert used to come back home after offseason practice, Shedeur used to drive him home and pull him to workout together.

Slowly, the bond fostered, and years later when Shedeur got serious about his football career, Colbert became his first choice for a personal trainer.

“I’m from Houston, so I would come back, I would come back home to Houston and he would call me and be like, "Hey man, come pick me up from my mom’s house. I want to come work out with you,'" Colbert said. "So we had created a bond from there and then once I got done playing ball and got into training, I told him, he was like, shoot, I’m training with you.”

Shedeur Sanders could become a franchise QB in NFL

Over the last four years, Shedeur Sanders showcased exceptional skills when it came to leading a program. Wherever he went, he transformed the team as a whole. Fans could argue that it was more about his Coach Prime and the value he brings, but the stats that he put up showed his leadership skills.

Colorado is now a Big 12 powerhouse after coming off a 1-11 record three years ago. Heading into the 2025 draft, Sanders is a highly touted prospect with the New York Giants potentially picking him. Brian Daboll could have a perfect replacement for Daniel Jones who was released in November.