Colorado wide receiver Joseph Williams didn’t pick a side when asked about the Buffaloes’ quarterback situation. He didn’t have to.
With Colorado still not publicly naming a starter for No. 12 Texas Tech, Williams was asked Tuesday to compare Julian Lewis and Isaac Wilson. He took a moment, saying “let me think” twice, but his answer landed as a show of trust in both quarterbacks rather than a case for one over the other.
“So regardless of who’s out there, who got out there, we’re confident,” Williams said. “We feel good who’s out there, and we’re gonna make plays for them no matter what.”
Williams has already seen what both can do. At Baylor, he hauled in a career-best 11 catches for 127 yards, scored on a fourth-quarter pass from Wilson and also completed a 49-yard throw to wide receiver Quanell Farrakhan Jr. in Colorado’s 23-13 loss.
Rather than drawing a sharp line between the two quarterbacks, Williams emphasized the similarities.
“JuJu, they both can make every throw on the field. They both throw with a lot of velocity.
They put a lot of touch on the ball,” Williams said. “Isaac has a lot of experience, 'cause he started before this.
So I feel like that also helps him a lot.”
Wilson arrived at Colorado with starting experience from Utah. Lewis opened each of Colorado’s first four games before coach Deion Sanders went to Wilson at halftime against Baylor.
Williams also said the two quarterbacks seem to be learning from one another.
“And they’re both really good leaders,” Williams said. “I can tell that things that Isaac does, JuJu sees it, and he tries to pick up on it. And the same thing with Isaac, he sees things JuJu does, and they try to pick up.”
When Wilson entered against Baylor, Colorado was down 13-3. He helped the Buffs pull even at 13-13 before Baylor pulled away.
Williams said the key in that moment was making sure the quarterback felt supported.
“So just keep telling him no matter what, I got you, you know, you’re good. Keep going through your reads.
You can make every throw on the field,” Williams said. “Just you got to keep instilling confidence in them.”
Colorado’s next stretch comes fast: No. 12 Texas Tech visits Folsom Field on Oct.
3, No. 13 Utah follows after the bye week, and No.
19 Oklahoma State is up in Stillwater on Oct. 24.
Williams made it clear he sees that run as a chance.
“Very excited. It’s an opportunity from God.
It’s an opportunity for us to turn the season around and make a flip of the switch just like that,” Williams said. “'Cause like you said, three ranked opponents coming into our house, and we feel like no one’s coming to our house to beat us.”
The schedule, though, has a small wrinkle: Texas Tech and Utah come to Boulder, but Oklahoma State does not. Colorado will need to carry that same confidence on the road.
“We feel like we could play with anybody,” Williams said. “So regardless what jersey you got on, regardless who’s out there, we feel like we could play with whoever.”
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Hall put the focus on the defenses commitment to physicality and doing the job together, which has become a pretty clear calling card when Utah is at its best. Dampier also reflected on his performance, noting how much the opening touchdown meant and crediting the support he got from his family. For a team trying to establish itself in a new conference, the message from the locker room was hard to miss: the Utes believe their style travels, and they liked the way it showed up when the game was on the line. [Read more 🡒]
Utah Could Be Heading For An Awkward Isaac Wilson Reunion
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Deion Sanders still has not made a final decision, but he has publicly backed Wilson and the other quarterbacks on the roster, which keeps the picture fluid for now. Still, if Wilson gets the nod, it would set up an odd reunion for Utah in a game that already carries plenty of weight on Colorados schedule. [Read more 🡒]