Deion Sanders, Colorado Lose Another Quarterback To Transfer Portal

Before he ever coached a practice at Colorado, Deion Sanders announced the Buffaloes' starting quarterback for the 2023 season.

In just one example of how Sanders does things differently than just about every other college football coach, he brought his son Shedeur Sanders with him to his introductory press conference at Colorado and declared him the starter behind center.

As a result, it's little surprise that the Buffaloes have seen the rest of their quarterback room empty out.

According to a report by ESPN's Pete Thamel, JT Shrout is the latest Colorado quarterback with plans to hit the portal. Shrout, who began his college career at Tennessee, had not yet officially entered his name into the transfer portal as of this writing.

"Source: Colorado quarterback JT Shrout intends to enter the NCAA transfer portal," Thamel tweeted. "Shrout went to Tennessee in the Class of 2018 and has played at both UT and Colorado. He has 1,714 career passing yards and 12 touchdowns in 17 games."

Shrout transferred to Colorado prior to the 2021 season but did not see the field as he was recovering from knee surgery. He appeared in nine games in 2022 and struggled. He completed just 44.3 percent of his passes and threw seven touchdowns versus eight interceptions.

Shrout will have at least one year of eligibility remaining and could apply for a second, per Thamel.

Shrout is the third Colorado quarterback to hit the transfer portal since the hire of Sanders was announced in early December. Owen McCown has since landed at Texas-San Antonio, while Maddox Kopp transferred to Miami (Ohio).

Colorado has just one scholarship quarterback remaining on its roster from last season in sophomore Drew Carter.

Shedeur Sanders, who threw for more than 3,700 yards and 40 touchdowns last season, officially committed to Colorado last month. The younger Sanders will certainly face tougher competition in 2023, with Colorado slated to face a tough schedule that includes three 10-win teams from this season in the first five weeks.