Deion Sanders confirms Colorado will turn to Julian Lewis as starting quarterback
Replacing his son, Shedeur Sanders, was never going to be an easy task for Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders. It’s been a particularly difficult year at the position, though, with a rotating door at the position.
Ahead of Colorado’s upcoming game against West Virginia, Sanders shared that Colorado is turning to Julian Lewis at quarterback. The highly touted recruit now looks to spark what has been a struggling offense for the Buffaloes this season.
“We have a freshman that is going to start for us [Julian “JuJu” Lewis],” Deion Sanders said. “They [West Virginia] have a freshman QB starting for them.”
Sanders would attribute the move to “Common sense… common sense.” He also noted that Lewis is healthy, despite concerns he had banged up his hand during last Saturday’s game.
This offseason, Deion Sanders brought in Kaidon Salter as an experienced transfer and Julian Lewis as a talented incoming freshman to compete for the starting job. Ryan Staub also entered that competition during the season, and all three have seen playing time at the quarterback position. In the two previous games that Lewis has played in, he’s completed 52.4 percent of his passes for 129 yards, and a touchdown. He’s also rushed for eight yards.
Earning more playing time has been Salter and Staub. In eight games, Salter is completing 63.1 percent of his passes for 1,242 yards and 10 touchdowns to six interceptions. He also has 293 rushing yards and five touchdowns on the ground. Staub, meanwhile, has played in four games and has completed 54.5 percent of his passes for 427 yards and three touchdowns to four interceptions. On the ground, he has 30 yards and a score. That’s amounted to the 97th-ranked passing offense nationally, averaging 199.8 yards through the air a game.
Julian Lewis was a four-star recruit in the Class of 2025. A native of Carrollton, GA, he was the 56th-ranked player overall and the seventh-ranked quarterback in that recruiting class. Now, Deion Sanders is turning the Colorado offense over to him.
Lewis will open as the starter against West Virginia. The Mountaineers are coming off their first conference win of the season a week ago, which came in upset fashion over Houston. Now, with three games left, West Virginia needs to win out to go bowling. Colorado, meanwhile, has lost two games in a row. Those losses were by a combined score of 105-24.
