Colorado’s quarterback room looks a lot different heading into 2026, and for Deion Sanders, that change starts with a familiar kind of hope: a young passer with big-time recruiting buzz and a chance to finally settle the position.
After Colorado’s 2024 surge to nine wins and its first bowl appearance since 2020, the offense had elite quarterback play to thank just as much as two-way star Travis Hunter. Shedeur Sanders delivered it.
He finished his final season in Boulder with 4,134 passing yards, 37 touchdowns and a 74% completion rate, numbers that made him one of the country’s best passers even if his NFL career has been rough so far. Since then, Colorado hasn’t found that same stability under center.
The Buffaloes dropped to four wins in 2025, with starting quarterback Kaidon Salter throwing seven interceptions. Salter is now gone, and Colorado turns to a new depth chart that features a former five-star at the top and another recognizable name behind him.
At the top sits Julian Lewis, the redshirt freshman who was officially named the Week 1 starter against Georgia Tech by offensive coordinator Brennan Marion last week. Lewis was a five-star recruit in the 2025 class by multiple outlets after reclassifying from 2024, originally committing to USC before flipping to Colorado in November 2024. He was brought in as the expected successor to Shedeur Sanders, though his first season in Boulder didn’t unfold as the full-time debut many expected.
Lewis played in four games as a true freshman in 2025, starting two of them late in the year after Salter had already been installed as QB1. That made him the ninth true freshman to start at quarterback in Colorado history.
Even in limited action, he showed enough to enter 2026 as the clear choice to take over the offense. He was also named to the Shawn Alexander Award Watch List ahead of the season.
The numbers back up the promise. In four games, Lewis completed 52 of 94 passes for 589 yards, six touchdowns and no interceptions, with a 122.0 quarterback rating.
He added minus-35 rushing yards and no rushing touchdowns. One of his best outings came against West Virginia last November, when he threw for 299 yards and two touchdowns.
Behind him is Isaac Wilson, better known to many fans as Zach Wilson’s brother. Isaac Wilson is Colorado’s QB2 and enters his third year of college after two seasons at Utah.
Zach Wilson, the former No. 2 overall pick by the Jets in 2021, is now in his sixth NFL season. The younger Wilson made seven starts as a true freshman at Utah, then spent 2025 as a backup.
He also had a notable moment in 2024, becoming the first Utes true freshman quarterback to beat an AP ranked team when Utah knocked off Oklahoma State.
Wilson arrived at Colorado as a former consensus four-star recruit, and while he doesn’t have an immediate path to the starting job in 2026, he gives the Buffaloes a more recognizable and experienced backup option behind Lewis.
Rounding out the room is Kaneal Sweetwyne at No. 3.
In Other News...
Brent Key Knows This Georgia Tech Opener Wont Feel Like Home
The season opener in Atlanta already had a little extra charge to it, and Deion Sanders return only adds to the feel around it. Georgia Tech coach Brent Key has been talking about the matchup as more than a standard September kickoff, with Sanders back in the city where he remains a towering sports figure and Colorado stepping into a setting that figures to draw plenty of attention before the first snap.
For the Buffaloes, the backdrop matters because so many of the faces on the roster have roots close to the game site. Colorado has 17 listed players from Georgia, including former five-star quarterback Julian "JuJu" Lewis, which helps explain why this one figures to look and sound a little different from a normal road trip. Even with the home crowd on hand for Georgia Tech, the atmosphere is expected to have a familiar edge for Colorado, and that is part of what makes this opener worth watching. [Read more 🡒]
Colorados 2026 Offense Hinges On One Huge Question
Colorados offense for 2026 already has a clear center of gravity, and it starts with quarterback Julian Lewis. After a freshman season that pointed to bigger things ahead, Lewis is being viewed as the offensive MVP candidate under Deion Sanders and new coordinator Brennan Marion, the kind of player whose growth could shape everything the Buffaloes want to do next fall. If he settles into the starting role the way the staff expects, Colorado will have a foundation it can build around rather than a unit still searching for its identity.
Joseph Williams is another name worth watching as the pieces come together, giving the Buffaloes a potential second pillar on the perimeter. Even so, the bigger question hanging over the offense is less about talent than timing and fit, because the promise of a young quarterback and a new system only goes so far until the pieces around them lock in. For Colorado, the 2026 offense may end up being defined by how quickly those expectations turn into something more concrete. [Read more 🡒]
Colorados New Defensive Identity Faces A Brutal Opening Test
Chris Marves first game as Colorados defensive coordinator arrives with a clear message attached to it: the Buffaloes want their defense defined by how it plays, not just by what it knows. Since his promotion, Marve has stressed communication, teamwork and relentless pursuit as the foundation of the unit, a shift that puts as much weight on attitude and cohesion as on the call sheet.
Georgia Tech makes for a harsh debut under that new approach. The Yellow Jackets bring a run-heavy challenge to Boulder, and running back Justice Haynes sits at the center of it, giving Colorado an immediate chance to see whether Marves identity takes hold when the game turns physical and the pressure starts coming downhill. [Read more 🡒]