Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes knew they needed a messiah figure to walk through in Boulder. The superstar duo of Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter were imminently ascending to the top rung of the football ladder. To keep the skyward trajectory of the program going beyond 2024, a high-caliber QB was requisite. They identified Julian Lewis as someone who could carry the baton. Shedeur, quite literally, passed the keys and throne to him.
JuJu Lewis’ traversal to Colorado was far from linear. For the longest time, it seemed like he was destined to link with quarterback whisperer Lincoln Riley at USC. A carousel of quarterback talent ensued, as it tends to do approaching National Signing Day, and he eventually ended up in Colorado. USC got Husan Longstreet instead. Now when this ordeal transpired some weeks ago, both Longstreet and Lewis were largely considered neck-and-neck in terms of prospects. The consensus feeling around the two was that of parity, both being rated 5 stars. Present day, there is a divergence. It appears Julian Lewis’ stock has plummeted. Call it a supernova, because JuJu has just lost a star.
Industry leaders when it comes to all things CFB recruitment, On3 has released a list hot off the virtual press. Posted to social media, it entails an exact ranking of every 5-star prospect in the class of 2024. A total of 32 names have made the list, hailed as the best in the country across their multitude of positions. Atop the list is Michigan’s Bryce Underwood, who in many ways instigated the aforementioned QB carousel. Husan Longstreet is ranked at a commendable #12. Julian Lewis is not on the list, which is rather peculiar. However, there is a theory, one etched in prejudice and bias.
For the longest time, JuJu was a 5-star recruit across many contemporaries of On3. A Google search of his name alongside “5-star” will spew loads of results in line with that prestigious status. A fringe minority has claimed that while he was a USC commit under Lincoln Riley, he was viewed in a different light than the polarizing and much-maligned Deion Sanders.
Coach Prime’s methods can tend to rub people the wrong way. Plus, USC not going ahead with his commitment can be construed negatively. Alas, these are just theoretical rankings that have little bearing on how a career plays out. Julian Lewis and Deion Sanders perhaps have more pressing matters to contend with.
Although you can prefer to ignore it, you have to acknowledge one thing. Tampering can be a loosely thrown-around umbrella term. But what’s also true is that trying to cut corners on the recruitment front is pretty prevalent across the CFB landscape. It’s so prevalent that it has almost become the norm. Even those that abuse the malpractice lament it but can’t cease their actions, to stay competitive. The cut-throat nature of the sport facilitates those involved to try and find loopholes. Turns out, Deion may have been involved in some illicit activity during the recruitment of JuJu.
Julian Lewis’ recruitment leads to an NCAA probe and Deion Sanders is caught breaking the law
As quickly and last minute as the process projected to the outside world, Deion Sanders was obviously privy to his program landing Lewis before the masses. The problem is that he let his excitement get the better of him. Deion made a lapse of judgment and is now being duly reprimanded for it. USA Today has reported that Deion Sanders has been charged with a “minor NCAA violation”.
It’s basically caused by him alluding to JuJu and explicitly taking his name in the context of the Buffaloes before the stipulations allowed it. As superficial as it comes across, coaches aren’t permissible to publicly comment on their high school recruits before they officially sign. It’s an understandable bit of legislature, albeit very out of touch with the reality of what’s going on across the sport. But Alas, Deion Sanders will have to deal with this. The punishment isn’t too severe in context.
The incident occurred during a live stream on Deion’s weekly coaches show, which has since been deleted by the school. CU has stated that they’re taking “corrective measures”. They also agreed to “implement new institutional controls on the football weekly coaches show.” All this went down during the window between Julian Lewis committing to Colorado but not signing. This does make Deion getting ahead of himself fathomable.
On a surface level, JuJu has just received back-to-back bad news. However, he’ll have to seek the glass half-full perspective. Not only will Prime, who knows a thing or two about setbacks, wrap his arm around him. This adversity also allows him to recalibrate and not get ahead of himself. In all likelihood, JuJu won’t be QB1 for Colorado in 2025. These events will all test his mettle as a player and mold him to be ready for this vital phase of his career. It’s a trial by fire.
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