Even as he recovers from his recent battle with bladder cancer, Deion Sanders continues to watch out for his team. By promising to continue to honor Charlie Offerdahl’s scholarship, Sanders showed his generosity to the running back for the Colorado Buffaloes who had to make the tough decision to leave the team.
Before his fifth season with the Buffs, Offerdahl, a former walk-on who received a scholarship in April 2024, told his teammates on the morning of July 29 that he would be retiring from football, according to Sports Illustrated.
The Littleton, Colorado, native is putting his health first after suffering several concussions during his career, with the most recent being particularly concerning.
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“Obviously, I haven’t been here this summer,” Offerdahl said in a video posted to Sanders’ Instagram page. “If it’s not obvious already, I won’t be coming back this year. How serious this last concussion was and how many I’ve had leading up to it is pretty scary for me and my family, but I will be hanging it up.”
Offerdahl was a highlight on the Buffs’ one-win 2022 team and was named Colorado’s Special Teams Scout Player of the Year in 2021. That season, he carried 37 times for 150 yards, the most by a walk-on in school history.
After accepting a scholarship ahead of Colorado’s 2024 spring game, Offerdahl carried for 126 yards this past season and scored his first career touchdown against the Utah Utes in November.
During a team meeting on July 29, Sanders affirmed that Colorado will continue to honor Offerdahl’s scholarship. The senior is currently applying to dentistry school, and Sanders hopes to assist Offerdahl there as well.
“I love this man to life,” Sanders said. “You guys know how I feel about the ‘OBs,’ the Original Buffs. If there’s somebody out there that’s in control of a dental school, I want to make sure we take care of him.”
After Offerdahl reminded Sanders that dental school is not cheap, “Coach Prime” made a sincere appeal.
“We’re gonna get somebody out there to bless you,” Sanders said. “I know you’re stepping away from this (football), but we’re going to continue your scholarship… We’ll pay for everything for him because I love him. He deserves it. I wish to God that we just had 11 players with what he has inside of him and what makes him who he is. Running backs, you understand, Charlie never had a bad day.”
With Offerdahl’s retirement from football, Colorado currently has four scholarship running backs on the roster: sophomore Micah Welch, junior Dallan Hayden, and incoming transfers Simeon Price (Coastal Carolina) and DeKalon Taylor.
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