Colorado safety Shilo Sanders has put together a solid season so far, registering a Pac-12-leading 21 solo tackles and an 80-yard pick-six against Colorado State.
However, a frightening kidney injury has put Sanders’s status in jeopardy for the Buffaloes’ Saturday afternoon showdown with No. 8 USC.
Sanders’s father, Colorado coach Deion Sanders, addressed his son’s condition Thursday on the Buffaloes’ weekly radio show.
“Praying for him. I don’t even know how he did this. I mean what’s going on with the kidney in Boulder? What’s going on with us right now?” the coach said, alluding to wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter’s similar injury. "I mean he got on the plane and he was like, ‘Dad, I’m peeing blood...’ So we landed and we went straight to the hospital to check him out. He was cool. But he can’t participate until he stops urinating blood.”
Sanders was injured in Colorado’s 42–6 loss to No. 10 Oregon Saturday, during which he recorded seven tackles.
“He told the doctor, ‘You know I’m a Sanders, right? I’ve gotta play...’ He wants to play so bad,” the elder Sanders said. “So we have another probably 36 hours before we really know if he’s not urinating blood anymore.”
That would put a decision on his status mere hours before kickoff in Boulder, scheduled for 12 p.m. ET on Saturday. With the Trojans averaging an FBS-leading 55 points per game, the Buffaloes’ defense will need all the help it can get with or without Sanders.
