Nobody said replacing Shedeur Sanders would be easy. But boy, this one’s taking way too long. Two quarterbacks. A dual-threat wizard from Liberty with legs like lightning and a true freshman prodigy with ice in his veins. And the man at the helm? Coach Prime himself, standing in front of the media, flashing that Prime confidence and casually saying, “We brought both of them because I don’t know which one is going to start.”
Welcome to the most chaotic quarterback battle Boulder has seen in decades. Kaidon Salter vs. Julian Lewis. Veteran vs. Wunderkind. Battle-tested mobility vs. cold-blooded pocket precision. On July 26, PFF’s Dalton Wasserman broke it all down: “And let’s start with Salter and what he’s done the last couple years at Liberty. Kaiden Salter is a lot like, actually, his Liberty predecessor, Malik Willis. He’s got a huge arm. Even for a guy with kind of below-average size and he’s an explosive runner who can make people miss. So, you’re talking about a guy who is a dual threat.”
But here’s the rub. Colorado ran the ball at the second-lowest rate in the country last season. The Buffs were bossing with the Air-raid offense. 3 wideouts is bare-minimum. Liberty? They were seventh-highest. Salter thrives in play-action, in chaos, in sandlot-style football where he scrambles out and lets it fly 60 yards downfield like he’s playing Madden on rookie mode. “He holds the ball a little too long,” Wasserman added. “cause he plays a lot of that sandlot football.”
The Buffs QBs. Dalton Dissects Kaidon & Julian Play Styles
“Salter excels in play action, able to take deep shots. He is an athlete, has a big arm, big time feet. Julian is an urgent rhythm passer, got a quick release, on-time, and he’s accurate”
@PFF_College https://t.co/SBw7vydAjP pic.twitter.com/f2F8iEJ3IG
— JaKi (@JaKiTruth) July 26, 2025
And that’s the conundrum. Because Pat Shurmur’s offense? It’s the opposite. Think rhythm, pocket balling, timing, surgical precision. Think Shedeur Sanders hitting his third step and launching some darts rather than scrambling around. Shurmur doesn’t want chaos. He wants a Swiss watch. Wasserman went on to add, “Salter is an athlete. He’s got a big arm, he’s got big-time feet, but he’s not always going to make the most accurate throws from the pocket. So where do we adjust there?” The question is, will Pat Shurmur going to change his offense for Kaidon Salter? Does he even have time for that? According to PFF, Julian Lewis is a better fit to run the Buffs’ offense.
Wasserman doubled down on Julian Lewis: “Now, if it’s the true freshman Julian Lewis, he’s a lot more like Shedeur. Doesn’t have huge size or a huge arm, necessarily. But he’s urgent, he’s on time, he’s accurate. You can even see it in his high school tape why Deion Sanders would want him as the successor, the long-term successor, I should say, to Shéduer Sanders, because it’s the same type of urgent rhythm passer in the pocket. He’s got good vision, he’s got a quick release, and they say he’s been playing really well in practice.” Julian Lewis mirrors Shedeur like they got something in their DNA. It’s a tough pick for Pat Shurmur. That’s why Deion Sanders is sweating. Not because he lacks talent, he’s drowning in it. But because naming a starter here isn’t just about week one. It’s about setting the tone for Colorado’s future.
Make no mistake. Salter’s no slouch. Over 5,800 yards passing, 56 touchdowns, 2,000+ rushing yards, and 21 rushing TDs at Liberty. He’s eaten turf in blowouts and danced in bowl games. But sometimes, raw explosiveness isn’t enough. Still, remember this: the Big 12 eats freshmen alive. Just ask Isaac Wilson, Zach Wilson’s brother, who tossed 10 TDs and 11 picks for Utah. Not everyone survives the storm. So now Deion has a choice: go with the electric bridge quarterback who forces a full reboot, or the polished prodigy who might take his lumps now, but be a star for years to come.
Deion Sanders named among college football coaches with the most to prove in 2025
Don’t look now, but Coach Prime’s name just landed on a spicy offseason list: Fox Sports’ “10 College Football Coaches with the Most to Prove in 2025.” Landing at No. 9, Deion Sanders joins some serious names. James Franklin (No. 1), Lincoln Riley (No. 2), and Brent Venables (No. 3) are all chasing conference titles and national dreams. Sanders? He’s chasing something trickier: respect, validation, and consistency.
Let’s keep it 100: Coach Prime is 13-12 since taking over in Boulder. Last season, the Buffs finished 9-4—a solid rebound after that rocky 2023. But 2025? It’s the first year without Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter. No more security blankets. No more freak athletes to bail out broken plays.
And the schedule? Brutal.
We’re talking road games at Kansas State, TCU, West Virginia, and Utah. Six of the top seven SP+ projected teams in the Big 12. Oddsmakers are placing Colorado’s win total around 6.5 and most bets are hammering the under. That’s not shade. That’s the reality of losing NFL-level talent, reshuffling the offensive line, and potentially breaking in a rookie QB. Fox Sports’ ranking might seem like a callout, but in Coach Prime’s world, it’s a challenge. And he’s never backed down from those. But if we’re being real, even bowl eligibility would feel like a big win for the Buffaloes’ campaign.
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