Deion Sanders isn’t hiding where Colorado’s quarterback room stands heading into 2026. The Buffaloes look ready to hand the offense to redshirt freshman Julian Lewis, and Sanders made it plain that he believes the young passer has the tools to handle it.
Speaking on “CFB Scoop w/ Dukes,” Sanders pointed to Lewis’ makeup and mindset as the foundation for what comes next.
“He has all the intangibles that you need to be successful. Let’s do it.
Let’s study. Let’s prepare,” Sanders said about Lewis on CFB Scoop.
“These receivers are trying to go pro, so they’re depending on you. I’m not putting no pressure, but I want you to apply pressure…Just play your game.”
Sanders also said the load won’t fall entirely on Lewis’ shoulders. Colorado has older players and former captains who can handle more of the leadership work - the huddles, the meetings, the day-to-day organizing. For Lewis, the message is simpler: focus on playing quarterback and let the rest around him do its job.
That approach comes after Lewis showed flashes last season in a limited sample. The former four-star recruit from Colorado’s 2025 high school class played in four games as a true freshman and started a handful of games late in the year. In those appearances, he threw for 589 yards with four touchdowns and zero interceptions.
Colorado needed that kind of production because the quarterback spot never really settled in 2025. The offense felt the impact, too, as the Buffaloes averaged 20.9 points per game, which ranked 116 out of 136 FBS teams.
Most of the season belonged to veteran dual-threat quarterback Kaidon Salter, who came to Boulder from Liberty. Salter is now in the CFL with the BC Lions.
Colorado also turned to Ryan Staub for an early-season road game at Houston, but that start didn’t lead to a longer run. The Buffaloes lost that game, Staub never started again, and he later entered the transfer portal before ending up with the Tennessee Volunteers.
Now the pressure shifts to a different kind of quarterback situation, one built around development and expectation. Sanders is entering his fourth year in Boulder, and the results so far have been uneven. Since arriving in 2023, he has a 16-21 record.
Colorado’s climb under Sanders started from the bottom. The Buffaloes were coming off a one-win season in 2022, then went 4-8 in Sanders’ first year. They jumped to 9-4 in 2024, the program’s best win total since 2016, before sliding back to 3-9 in 2025 and missing a bowl game for the second time in three seasons on Sanders’ watch.
With Georgia Tech up first in 2026, Lewis appears set to take the keys. After the stop-start quarterback carousel of last season, Colorado is betting that this time the answer is already in the building.
In Other News...
Colorado Is Getting Real Buzz As Deions Rebuild Starts To Land
Colorado has been part of plenty of national conversation since Deion Sanders arrived, but the latest buzz is less about the spectacle and more about the possibility of a real football jump. ESPN recently listed the Buffaloes among 14 college teams with a chance to outperform expectations in the 2026 season, a nod to how much the roster has changed through recruiting and the transfer portal.
The pieces are starting to look more interesting, too, with quarterback Julian Lewis and wide receiver Danny Scudero among the notable additions. Preseason projections still have Colorado sitting around the middle of the Big 12, but ESPNs inclusion suggests the Buffs are becoming a team worth watching as Sanders rebuild keeps taking shape. [Read more 🡒]
Colorado Transfer Linebacker Is Already Forcing Attention In Open Battle
Before fall camp even opens, Gideon Lampron is already making his case in Colorados linebacker room. The transfer from Bowling Green and Dayton has spent time in Zoom meetings with defensive coordinator Chris Marve, using the early offseason to get a head start on the Buffaloes defensive scheme and absorb the details that usually take shape once practice starts.
That kind of work matters in a room where several transfer linebackers are all competing for snaps and starting roles this season. For Colorado, the open battle is still unfolding, but Lamprons decision to dive into the playbook early gives him a chance to separate himself before the competition turns fully live. [Read more 🡒]
Colorado Fixed A Lot This Offseason But One Weakness Still Lingers
Colorados offseason overhaul was hard to miss after a disappointing 2025 season, with the Buffaloes making meaningful upgrades across much of the roster before heading into 2026 fall camp. The biggest gains came at wide receiver, running back, cornerback, linebacker and safety, giving the staff far more reasons to feel better about the overall balance of the team than it had a year ago.
Even so, the rebuild did not touch every concern equally. Quarterback and tight end only saw modest improvement, which leaves a familiar question hanging over the offense as camp opens. The new pieces should raise the floor in several spots, but Colorado still has to prove the weakest area can keep pace with the rest of the roster. [Read more 🡒]