Deion Sanders Reflects on Death of Colorado Quarterback

Sanders says Ponder's jersey number change was 'toughest thing' to digest after his passing.

Mar. 5, 2026 at 9:39pm

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Colorado football coach Deion Sanders discussed the recent death of Buffaloes quarterback Dominiq Ponder, who died in a car accident at age 23. Sanders revealed that Ponder had recently earned the right to switch to jersey number 7, which he was set to wear for the first time on the day after his passing. The team is now deciding whether to honor Ponder with a jersey patch using his original number 22 or the number 7 he had worked hard to obtain.

Why it matters

Ponder's death has deeply impacted the Colorado football program and the community. Sanders' comments provide insight into the personal toll of losing a player and the team's efforts to appropriately memorialize him.

The details

Ponder was a non-scholarship backup quarterback who had spent two seasons at Colorado. Sanders said Ponder had recently earned the right to switch from his original number 22 to the more coveted number 7, which he was set to wear for the first time on March 2 - the day after he died in a car accident. The team is now deciding whether to use Ponder's original number 22 or the number 7 he had worked hard to obtain for a jersey patch honoring his memory.

  • Ponder died in a car accident on March 1, 2026.
  • Colorado held an emergency meeting on March 1 and decided to start spring practice as scheduled on March 2.
  • Colorado continues spring practice through April 11 and begins the season at Georgia Tech on Sept. 3.

The players

Deion Sanders

The head football coach at the University of Colorado.

Dominiq Ponder

A 23-year-old backup quarterback for the Colorado Buffaloes who recently passed away in a car accident.

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What they’re saying

“He worked his butt off, and this season he was gonna wear No. 7. But the teammates love him so much. One of the kids came to my office today and said, `Coach, can I wear 22? You know, for my roommate?' I said, 'Yeah, but you know, he was getting ready to wear 7.' Like, the next day, he would have been in 7 for his first time ever.”

— Deion Sanders, Head Football Coach, University of Colorado

“It was tough, because I'm like, you send a kid to college to become a man and to get education, and to just soar through life. You don't send a kid to college to lose him. And that's the toughest thing for me to digest.”

— Deion Sanders, Head Football Coach, University of Colorado

What’s next

The Colorado football team is still deciding whether to use Ponder's original jersey number 22 or the number 7 he had recently earned the right to wear for a jersey patch honoring his memory.

The takeaway

Ponder's tragic passing has deeply impacted the Colorado football program, with Coach Sanders expressing the personal difficulty of losing a player he viewed as a favorite and team leader. The team's efforts to appropriately memorialize Ponder highlight the human toll of such losses in college sports.