Deion Sanders isn’t rushing to give Julian Lewis a public roadmap back to Colorado’s starting quarterback job.
With the Buffaloes sitting at 2-2 in Lewis’ four starts and then going 0-3 with Isaac Wilson under center, the quarterback situation in Boulder has stayed front and center. Sanders was asked about it again on Oct. 27, and his response was short and direct when the question came up about whether Lewis is still trying to win back the job.
"That's on him," Sanders said while shrugging. "Great question, but that's on him."
Sanders also pushed back when the topic turned to whether he has handled Lewis unfairly.
"I don't treat people unfairly," Sanders said. "I don't play games with young men and their careers or hate on folks.
If anything, I'm too forgiving. You have to understand that we may know more a little more than you do because we're inside the locker room and understands what happens including what clicks and what doesn't.
You guys on the outside think you see what goes on inside but you don't. And that's not a shot at any of you, but it's not for me to guess or assume."
He was asked again whether Lewis is still competing in practice and pressing Wilson for the starting role, but Sanders declined to go much further.
“If I say that, you might think I'm taking a shot at the kid and I'm not going down the rabbit hole. I’m so honest that honesty gets you in trouble. I don’t wanna go there, you guys do your homework," Sanders stated.
Lewis was benched before Colorado’s game against Texas Tech, with Wilson taking over during the Week 4 loss to Baylor. Before that, Lewis had flashed enough to keep the conversation alive, including his best outing of the season against Weber State on Sept.
- In that game, he threw for 366 yards and four touchdowns.
But the rough patches piled up fast. Lewis threw two interceptions and finished with 168 passing yards in a 41-7 loss to Northwestern in Week 3, and then his production dropped again against Baylor, when he was held to 75 yards on 11-of-16 passing. By the time he lost the job, Lewis had 733 passing yards, six touchdowns and two interceptions.
The move also appears tied to his struggles as a runner. Lewis finished three games with negative rushing yardage, including -23 against Weber State.
Wilson, by contrast, has brought more of a dual-threat element to the offense, and Colorado has leaned into that. He has 88 rushing yards heading into the Oct. 31 game against Kansas State.
Still, the tradeoff has come with plenty of mistakes. Wilson has thrown seven interceptions, including multiple picks in each of his starts, and he has also lost a fumble against Oklahoma State.
As a passer, Wilson has piled up more yards than Lewis with 979. Even so, Colorado is still searching for steadier play at quarterback, which is why Lewis remains a major talking point around Boulder.
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Colorados plan, at least in theory, is to keep Johnson bottled up in the pocket and force him to win with his arm. But Kansas State has been dealing with quarterback injuries beyond Johnson, and even if he is cleared to play, theres no guarantee hell look or play the same way he normally does. For a Colorado defense trying to steady itself in conference play, the difference between an injured Johnson and no Johnson at all could shape the whole afternoon. [Read more 🡒]