Keeler: How can CU Buffs QB Shedeur Sanders win big at Nebraska? By blocking out the noise, Steven Montez says

BOULDER — Steven Montez threw up a prayer and turned a Sea of Red into church mice.

“I just remember it being dead quiet in the stadium,” Montez, the ex-CU Buffs quarterbacking great, told me over the phone Tuesday. “That was the thing that stuck out to me the most.”

He remembers Laviska Shenault, the Travis Hunter before Travis Hunter, shifting into fifth gear on a “go” route the last time they played in Lincoln, six Septembers ago, converting a right-shoulder fade into a game-winning TD and a 33-28 Buffs victory.

He remembers Jay MacIntyre getting clobbered on third down to give Montez a second chance at paydirt. He remembers the sweetest silence ever. He remembers talking trash to Nebraska linebacker Dedrick Young II, a pal of teammate and CU lineman Brett Tonz, while sprinting downfield to celebrate.

“What did you say?” I asked.

A pause.

“I don’t know if it’s appropriate for print,” Montez laughed.

“Did Dedrick say anything back?”

“He didn’t say a word to me,” Montez replied. “I could just tell he was absolutely livid.”

Funny thing? Montez considers Young a friend now. Well, except maybe this week. The Color That Shall Not Be Named Week.

“I’d rather be dead,” Montez quipped, “than red.”

The best grudges never die, do they? Since 1964, CU’s played in Lincoln 24 times. They won five of those games. Over the last 60 years, only two Buffs QBs have ever beaten the Big Red twice: Darian Hagan (’89 and ’90) and Montez (’18 and ’19). Shedeur Sanders, whose 1-0 Buffs visit the Huskers on Saturday night, is on the cusp of becoming the third.

“We knew it was going to be loud,” Montez recalled of CU’s last visit to Lincoln. “But then you get there, and especially the last drive of the game, I couldn’t hear when I clapped my hands to get the snap. I just felt my hands touch. I don’t know how (the center) heard me.

“I couldn’t hear any of the offensive line communication. It’s as if the crowd noise is pouring over your body.”

Montez’s pro tip for Sanders: When it comes to Big Red Country, it’s what you do, not what you say. Because as long as the latter is happening between the hash marks, nobody’s going to hear it anyway.

“The secret, first and foremost, I think, (has) got to be dealing with that crowd noise,” Montez said. “I’ve played in a lot of different places — I’ve played at (Oregon’s) Autzen Stadium. I’ve played the Big House (in Michigan). Lincoln is, by far, the loudest environment I’ve played in over my career. So I think if you can deal with the crowd noise, I think you can really have a chance.”

And with what he saw of Shedeur and the Buffs against North Dakota State this past Thursday night, he thinks CU really, really, really has a chance.

“The way Travis (Hunter) is playing, the way Shedeur is playing, the way Jimmy Horn Jr. is playing,” Montez continued, “if they’re able to get those guys the ball, they’re going to be tough to stop.

“Even comparing myself and Shedeur, his level of efficiency has surpassed what I put on tape (at CU). He’s playing some of the best ball that I’ve ever seen from a CU quarterback in shoot, I don’t know how long — at least since I started watching the Buffs. The way (Sanders) played last year, with the protection he got, it was honestly pretty mind-blowing to see him play that well (while) getting hit that many times, getting sacked that many times.”

And that’s coming from Montez, who was a darn tough cookie himself. The El Paso, Texas, native threw for 63 scores as a Buff from 2016-2019, and his 9,710 career yards rank No. 2 an CU’s all-time career passing charts behind only Sefo Liufau (9,763).

At 6-foot-5, 230 pounds, Montez, who turned 27 in January, was blessed with a prototype NFL QB body, a strong arm and an easy, quick release. But the pro game can be a fickle mistress, and after stints with Washington and Detroit in the NFL and the Seattle Sea Dragons of the old XFL, Montez signed with the CFL’s Edmonton Elks this past January and was added to the Elks’ “retired” list this past May.

This fall, Montez is the QB coach at San Marin High School in Novato, Calif., having dabbled on the coaching side at this time a year ago.

“It bought me a lot of peace and a lot of fulfillment working with these kids, so I really just wanted to do it again,” Montez said. “I had so much fun coaching these kids — I had a blast last year.”

Plenty of tread left on those tires, though.

“I mean, if the situation is right, I feel like I would definitely love to come back and play again,” Montez said. “I still feel young, still feel in my prime.”

He still loves proving doubters wrong. Still loves being the underdog.

And speaking of, the Huskers are seven-point favorites heading into Saturday night. They were three-point favorites six years ago. Ya never know.

“I thought the initial vibe coming into that (2018) game was, they thought we were going to to show up and they were going to just roll us or something,” Montez recalled. “It felt like all the fans were really confident they were going to beat us that day. And it didn’t end up shaking out like that.”

Heck, yeah, he misses it. We’re all going to miss it.

“Nebraska’s not going to renew that contract, are they?” Montez asked me.

“Not anytime soon,” I said.

Another pause.

“After going 0-3 (in the first three games),” Montez chuckled, “I wouldn’t want to play us, either.”

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