Although by coaching standards, the Colorado Buffaloes‘ Deion Sanders is still relatively new to the profession, it’s unusual that prior to the 2025 season, his teams had never had an actual quarterback controversy.
Since he began is college coaching career at Jackson State in 2020, Deion had always had his son Shedeur behind center — first at JSU and then for two seasons at Colorado. The position was on lockdown.
With Shedeur off to the NFL, this season was going to be a little different in Boulder. But with highly touted transfer Kaidon Salter coming in, along with five-star recruit Julian “JuJu” Lewis, CU fans weren’t too worried.
After watching the Buffs get trampled 53-7 by conference rival Utah, maybe they should reconsider.
Getting Blown Out at Utah Changes Things for Colorado
Sanders was perplexed by his team’s performance in Salt Lake City, and his frustration was obvious on the sidelines.
Quarterback was an issue, but so was pretty much everything else.
“This is bad,” Sanders told the media following the game. “This is probably the worst beating I’ve ever had, except for when my momma whooped me as a kid.
“The way we practiced, the way we prepared, there’s no way that should have happened,” he added. “The physicalness that we exuded all week long, there’s no way.”
Who Might Be in the Mix to Start at QB for Colorado on November 1?
There will very likely be several QB questions for Deion to answer in the week heading to their November 1 game against Arizona.
The demolition job the Utes administered to Colorado was not all the fault of Salter, the fifth-year senior who had a good stint at Liberty before deciding to finish his college career in Boulder. But coming off a good performance in the Buffs upset win over Iowa State, he looked overmatched by a blitzing Utah defense that sacked him five times and held Colorado to negative total offense yardage well into the second half. For his night – which ended early – Salter was 9-for-22 for 37 yards and an interception.
Back up Ryan Staub, who was the forgotten man during the off season when CU was recruiting Salter and Lewis, entered the game and was fortunate enough to go up against some Utes back ups who were dropping into a prevent zone defense. Facing very little of the pressure Salter endured, Staub went 4-8 for 65 yards and led CU on it’s only scoring drive of the night. Utah elected to turn the pressure back up during the Buffs final possession and sacked Staub on the final two plays.
This was the second time this season that Staub – who appears to be a better fit for Offensive Coordinator Pat Shurmur’s pro-style offense – has replaced the sputtering Salter and looked decent doing so. What that means for Colorado’s final four games has not been addressed yet. Then there’s the additional situation involving the freshman Lewis, who many fans are clamoring to see, but who’s still very young and inexperienced. Lewis saw game action early in the year against Delaware, and would be allowed to participate in three more games before losing his redshirt status. However, in this day and age of the transfer portal, maintaining an extra season of college eligibility isn’t the priority it used to be.
If the Buffs fall out of contention for a second consecutive bowl appearance, Lewis could be given the keys.
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