On Saturday, Colorado will honor two of the greatest football players to ever come through Boulder.

CU’s decision to retire the jerseys of Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders, who completed their two seasons as Buffs in December, hasn’t come without opposition, though.

“That’s a sore subject that I saw the other day,” CU head coach Deion Sanders said Thursday when he met with media for the last time before Saturday’s Black & Gold game at Folsom Field (2:30 p.m., ESPN2). “This is the first time I’ve ever seen (a jersey retirement) sore.”

Several CU football alumni have publicly voiced their displeasure with the decision, feeling that the past greats are being ignored or passed over.

Chad Brown, an All-American linebacker with the Buffs from 1989-92, wrote on X: “Hard to understand how this move isn’t seen as a slight to the players who brought a National Championship to CU. No pushback on #2 (Shedeur Sanders) and #12 (Hunter) and their greatness. But for them to leapfrog so many other deserving candidates without a discussion or a waiting period blows my mind.”

Phillip Lindsay, who starred for the Buffs from 2013-18 and now co-hosts a radio show on The Fan in Denver, also said the pushback isn’t about Shedeur or Hunter. But, he added, “It’s the guys before them, it was the guys before me, it was the guys that we stand on their shoulders, that they deserve that moment, as well. “For me, it’s just all about respecting history, respecting the guys before us that bled on the football field, that cried on this football field and we all looked up to. That’s all I’m saying is having some respect for those guys.”

CU has certainly honored its great players from the past, but the school doesn’t have a long history of retiring numbers. Prior to Monday’s announcement for Shedeur and Hunter, CU had retired only four numbers.

Three of the retired numbers — Byron White (No. 24, 1935-37), Joe Romig (No. 67, 1959-61) and Bobby Anderson (No. 11, 1967-69) — have come out of retirement and were put back in circulation over the past year. The other retired number, for Rashaan Salaam (No. 19, 1992-94), will remain out of circulation until 2036 as a promise to the Salaam family.In the 55 years since Anderson’s number was retired at the 1970 spring game, Salaam is the only player to have his number retired — in 2017, nearly a year after his death and 23 years after he won CU’s first Heisman Trophy.

Jersey retirement decisions have been at the discretion of head coaches for decades, but past coaches haven’t wanted to take numbers out of circulation. Legendary coach Bill McCartney mentored many of the great players in program history but did not believe in retiring numbers.

In 1998, in fact, CU made the decision to no longer retire numbers. Instead, the department chose to have “honored jerseys” for all sports. That year, 15 football greats had their name and jersey number displayed on the west side of Folsom Field. Since then, 13 others have joined them.

CU came up with criteria for honored jerseys, including those who win major national awards, unanimous All-Americans and those who had certain all-conference recognition, including conference player of the year distinctions.

Tackle Nate Solder (2006-10) was the last player to have his jersey honored at Folsom, with a ceremony during the 2011 spring game. Shedeur and Hunter are CU’s most decorated players since Solder.

Hunter was the most decorated player in college football history last year, winning the Heisman Trophy, Biletnikoff Award and numerous others, along with being a unanimous All-American. Shedeur won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, was the Big 12 offensive player of the year, and received All-American recognition from some publications.

At the very least, Shedeur and Hunter were going to be on the west side of the stadium as “honored” players. In going a step further by retiring the numbers, CU is recognizing them for their impact in turning around the Buffs’ program in the past two years.

“The extraordinary passion and loyalty displayed by CU football fans, university alumni and former players is just one reason why Colorado football is different,” athletic director Rick George told BuffZone. “As someone who was a part of a past great era of CU football and who now has the privilege of being a part of the current one, I recognize that being a Buff is an honor and a privilege. Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders are both great Buffs and exceptional talents who have been tremendous representatives of our program and of our university and led our team back to national prominence.

“Recognizing the accomplishments of a Heisman Trophy winner and record-setting quarterback who ushered in this new era of CU football now does not detract from accomplishments of the past. Rather, it adds to the rich legacy of CU football that has been passed down over the years by everyone who has worn a CU uniform.”

Many of the alums who have been outspoken have said they understand Hunter having his number retired, since he won the Heisman Trophy. There’s been pushback about Shedeur, and Coach Prime said, “Let’s get the elephant out the room. We’re talking about Shedeur; we ain’t talking about nobody else. If his last name wasn’t Sanders we wouldn’t have this type of discussion. Only reason we are having this discussion is his last name is Sanders. That’s it.”

George and Coach Prime have pointed out, however, that Shedeur sparked the resurgence of the program. CU was 1-11 in 2022 before Shedeur and Coach Prime arrived, became one of the most talked-about teams in the country and went 9-4 last fall. He also shattered just about every single-season CU passing record.

Despite the disappointment by alums, CU is hoping fans will take the opportunity to celebrate Hunter and Shedeur for what they’ve done for the Buffs the past two years.

“It’s been so many things accomplished at this university expeditiously, it’s been unbelievable,” Coach Prime said. “And I think we should be appreciative. We should be thankful.”

George added, “Ultimately, we’re all Buffs and we support each other’s excellence because that’s the standard of CU football. I look forward to standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Buff Nation on Saturday as we honor these young men together and welcome two more great stewards of our program to our long list of Colorado football legends.”