Christian Fauria ‘Tapped Out’ on Colorado After Shedeur Sanders Jersey Retirement

Christian Fauria remains irritated by the fact that his alma mater, the University of Colorado, retired quarterback Shedeur Sanders' jersey after just 2 seasons, where he finished with a 13-11 record.

Christian Fauria ‘Tapped Out’ on Colorado After Shedeur Sanders Jersey Retirement

Deion Sanders and Shedeur Sanders (Image via IMAGO)

In Short
  • Christian Fauria criticized the University of Colorado's decision to retire Shedeur Sanders' jersey, calling it a vanity project.
  • Fauria expressed disappointment with the influence of Deion Sanders on the program's decisions regarding jersey retirements.
  • Shedeur Sanders was selected in the fifth round of the NFL draft, while his teammate Travis Hunter was picked second overall.

The news about the University of Colorado retiring Shedeur Sanders isn’t dying anytime soon. While it’s common for teams to retire jersey numbers for their best players, not everyone agreed with the Buffaloes’ decision to include Shedeur in that select group. Among them is former Colorado player Christian Fauria, who launched a fresh attack on the father-and-son duo of Deion Sanders and Shedeur.

USA Today recently sat down with the retired tight end who won a couple of NFL championships back in the day. Naturally, the topic of Sanders’ jersey retirement arose during the discussion. Fauria made it clear that he wants his alma mater to succeed at the collegiate level. Although he recognizes Coach Prime’s approach to managing the program, he ultimately finds it to be quite off-putting.

I officially tapped out in April 2025, when athletic director Rick George allowed the University of Colorado to retire Shedeur Sanders’ No. 2 jersey… Believe me, I can root for Shedeur as a player while still calling his jersey retirement what it was: a vanity project driven by his father [Deion Sanders].

Christian Fauria told USA Today

UC retired Sanders’ #2 jersey along with #12 of Travis Hunter, who won the Heisman Trophy in 2024. This is a sore subject matter for former Colorado players. They have no issue with Hunter, seeing as he was the best player in college. Sanders, on the other hand, finished with a 13-11 record in two seasons as the program’s starting quarterback.

Many were quick to highlight Coach Prime’s influence as the main reason behind Shedeur receiving treatment that even a legend of the school, Darian Hagan, did not get. Unlike Sanders, Hagan led the Buffaloes to three straight Big Eight titles and the national championship with a 28-5-2 record as quarterback. Hagan even told USA Today that he wasn’t happy with the school’s decision.

There was a policy in place. It had to be voted upon. I was never told that it was at the discretion of the athletic director or the head coach. That was shocking news to me. It was hard to stomach.

Hagan said

The Buffaloes folded right after Shedeur and Hunter made the jump to the NFL. UC went 3-9 and did not even qualify for a bowl game.

What happened to Shedeur Sanders after he graduated from Colorado?

Even though Hunter was the best player in college during the year they graduated, the two-way star wasn’t projected as the number one overall pick in the following draft. Draft gurus expected Sanders to be the first player taken. However, the status quo flipped on day one of the draft.

Christian Fauria ‘Tapped Out’ on Colorado After Shedeur Jersey Retirement
Shedeur Sanders (Image via IMAGO)

Miami quarterback Cam Ward was selected first overall by Tennessee, while Jacksonville’s Hunter was second. Sanders remained on the draft board for the next two days. His name finally appeared on day three when Cleveland called and selected him in the fifth round.

That said, he wasn’t a locked-on starter for the Browns. The coaches entrusted veteran Super Bowl winner Joe Flacco with the QB1 job and rookie Oregon graduate Dillon Gabriel as the backup. Sanders fell to third choice.

Flacco lasted four games before the Browns replaced him with Gabirel. The third rounder also failed to make the job his by going 1-5 in six starts. Sanders finally got the call-up near the tail end of 2025. In 8 appearances for the AFC North franchise, Sanders threw for 1400 yards and 7 touchdowns and conceded 10 interceptions, finishing with a 3-4 record.

Cleveland fired most of its coaching staff, including head coach Kevin Stefanski, who had fallen out of favor for his alleged bad treatment of Shedeur. Todd Monken took over as the new voice in the locker room last month and is a big Sanders fan, whom he tried to draft in Baltimore.

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