Renck: Given Heisman platform, Shedeur Sanders, Travis Hunter show CU Buffs defined by humility. Seriously.

The irony is the humility.

Shedeur Sanders is on the Zoom screen Thursday talking, and nobody gets more air time than Shedeur. He appears in commercials for Kentucky Fried Chicken, Gatorade and Beats by Dre, where his co-stars are LeBron James, Shohei Ohtani and Lionel Messi.

He has a watch flex touchdown celebration and a “Perfect Timing” song to accompany it. In a news conference set up to discuss college football’s greatest individual honor, Sanders had every opportunity to state his case.

Given the mic, he declared:

“Travis Hunter should win the Heisman (Trophy). That is it. I think he’s deserving of it,” said Sanders, who has 27 touchdowns and seven interceptions. “If it’s between me and him, I want him to get it.”

Hunter appeared on the conference call before Shedeur. Hunter has become the overwhelming favorite for the sport’s most coveted award, his unicorn existence as a two-way player — he insisted Thursday that he can also throw a football 70 yards — overpowering Ashton Jeanty’s impersonation of Barry Sanders. Hunter’s commanding lead provided an opportunity to deliver a Heisman quote to go with his multiple Heisman moments.

And instead, he showed restraint:

“If either one of us wins it’s the same team, same school. We have the same goals,” Hunter said. “If he wins it, I will be super happy just like I won it because I have worked hard to help him get there, and if I win it, everybody helped me get there.”

Coach Deion Sanders made CU college football’s most hated team in 2023, receiving outsized attention for a fast start that ended in a four-win season. He was characterized as a leader who cared more about his kids than his roster.

He makes it about him — Deion was social media before social media — but can we really say it’s not also about them? Meaning his players. Thursday, he received a commitment from quarterback Julian “Ju Ju” Lewis, the No. 2 recruit in the 2025 ESPN 300 class.

Is Deion going to pull a Hunter and do both: Coach CU and the Dallas Cowboys?

“I don’t think Ju Ju would commit unless he believed Deion was going to be there,” top Fox Sports college football analyst Joel Klatt told The Denver Post.

So, the star quarterback stumps for his teammate to win the Heisman, Hunter wants his quarterback to win the top prize and the coach lands a quarterback who could eventually claim it – and this team is selfish?

I understand the perception. But I am not buying it.

The Buffs face suddenly simmering Kansas at Arrowhead Stadium on Saturday with a path to the Big 12 title game and a College Football Playoff bid in the palm of their hands. CU, a team that failed to win a game over the final seven weeks in 2023, could play for a national title.

The Buffs put themselves in this position because of hard work, not social media clicks. They reacted to the Nebraska thrashing with humility. And it is why this team, for me, has become more entertaining than polarizing.

How they are perceived is out of their control. But at Champions Center headquarters, the buy-in is real.

Shedeur had no interest in talking about his father’s future or the school’s long-term prospects, explaining the focus on anything other than how to “shred” Kansas’ defense would be disrespectful to his teammates. He believes he has been the best quarterback in college football the past two years, but admitted, “It’s not up to me to prove myself by talking about why, (it’s about) week-in week-out handling my business.”

When Nebraska throttled CU, a relevant season hung in the balance. The Buffs have gone 7-1 since, their games a series of Wows.

Their defensive improvement has been startling, with CU controlling the line of scrimmage and writing a diary of havoc with sacks.

“We got tired of being the stepson,” said safety Cam’Ron Silmon Craig. “We don’t want the offense to have to win all the games. We know what we can do physically, matching teams. We have a chip on our shoulder.”

This mentality matters because Saturday sets up as a setup. Kansas is a 4-6 team in record only. The Jayhawks boast back-to-back wins over 8-2 Iowa State and previously unbeaten Brigham Young. And if Jalon Daniels isn’t the best quarterback CU has faced, he is the hottest, finally figuring out the object of football is not to throw the ball to the other team.

KU needs to win out to reach a bowl. The Jayhawks are desperate, like eating sushi from a gas station desperate.

The Buffs’ success has confirmed to them that they are ready for the big time. Their focus remains essential in this environment where we have seen Broncos’ seasons go to die for eight consecutive years.

“For me honestly, I just care about what’s inside the building,” Shedeur Sanders said. “Outside the building, I don’t care (what is being said) because I know how fast they can build you up, they can tear you down. I can’t put my energy into things that are not supportive of what we are trying to do.”

The stakes have never been higher, critics eager for a misstep, for CU to do something, anything wrong. But what if the players’ accountability, humility and belief in each other was right all along?

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