The rest of the NFL is officially on a summer break, but Shedeur Sanders is repeating what he did last year. The Cleveland Browns quarterback returned to the Fertitta Football Complex at UNLV in Las Vegas to get some more work out in. But first, he had a stop to make. He returned to his alma mater for a couple of days to give Colorado Buffaloes redshirt freshman QB Julian Lewis and Co. some exclusive, ‘free ball’ lessons.

“So, do y’all like get on their a–?,” Sanders began explaining why quarterbacks need to be disciplined with their receivers in the latest blog by Well Off Media. “Because what I’m thinking is, if you chose to go to this side and you didn’t choose to play up top, right? Then you’ll be stuck with the ball in your hand. Now you’re getting hit, and somebody not doing what it says to do.

“You can’t anticipate anything. You can’t play in rhythm because, obviously, you could beat the pressure with playing in rhythm. But if you don’t know what route he’s running or it’s a horrible route. It’s kind of like you’re setting yourself up for failure. You may have success now doing it, but over time it’s gonna catch up.”

After watching the Colorado Buffaloes’ quarterback play last season, it’s only fair for Deion Sanders to bring in Shedeur to teach Julian Lewis, Isaac Wilson (Zach Wilson’s brother), and Kaneal Sweetwyne. Even though former Buffs quarterback Kaidon Salter played most of the games, Coach Prime isn’t taking any risks and doesn’t want his quarterbacks to make the same mistakes Salter did with his wide receivers.

Case in point, their mid-season matchup at TCU. Salters had a handful of opportunities to score but made decisions that continued to disappoint the Buffs fans. In one of his first drop-back plays, the QB evaded pressure. But then he threw the ball to wide receiver Omarion Miller, who was stuck between three defenders. You can obviously think about how that play ended. He continues to make wrong reads to ultimately fall 35-21 to the Horned Frogs.

Sanders may be in murky waters himself at the Browns, but he did succeed in making Berea believe that he can be the quarterback they’ve been searching for. That’s the same hope the Sanders duo needs to bring to Boulder now.

Coach Prime also hired Brennan Marion in the offseason to lead the offensive coordinator role, and with Sanders in the room, Marion is already busy breaking down films and teaching the QBs for what’s to come.

And while many might think that Marion might not be on board with Shedeur in the room, considering he was the head coach of the Sacramento State Hornets in 2025 and led them to a 7-5 record, the feeling is exactly opposite.

“Loved having 2 around for a few days,” Marion tweeted after the session. “Nothing better than someone who is actively doing it teach the guys the nuances of the position.”

Shedeur’s main point was pretty simple, actually: a quarterback can only play fast when he trusts his receivers to run the right routes. For example, a QB isn’t waiting to see a receiver get open before throwing. On most of the concepts, he’s reading leverage, coverage, and the progression while trusting that the receiver will be exactly where the playbook says he’ll be.

Suppose the QB sees Cover 1 and knows the slant should replace the blitz. He’s ready to hit it off his back foot. But if the receiver rounds it off or runs it at the wrong depth, now the window disappears. The QB either throws to an empty spot, takes a sack while waiting, or forces a bad ball. That’s, as Shedeur said, is, “setting yourself up for failure.”

Julian Lewis and Boulder’s QB room doesn’t have the luxury of making too many mistakes, especially in the first quarter of the season. The schedule’s quite challenging, with three of their first four games on the road against Power Four opponents like Georgia Tech, Northwestern, and Dave Aranda’s Baylor.

It will be Deion Sanders’ job on the line if Julian Lewis or any of the other quarterbacks fail to lead the Buffaloes to a postseason bowl appearance. Meanwhile, after a tough training camp where Sanders had to fight for the primary quarterback spot once again, he is finally off duty. However, even then, he chose to repeat what he did last year.

In the 2025 offseason, Sanders, along with Cam Ward, worked out at UNLV. While there is no confirmation if the Tennessee Titans quarterback is back with the Browns QB again, the oldest brother of the Sanders Clan, Deion Jr., shared that Shedeur and his friends left him in their hotel room to work out at the UNLV once again. It will be interesting to see how much the Buffaloes improve in 2026 and whether Sanders follows his own advice.