Many thought that Deion Sanders would see freshman quarterback Julian Lewis as Shedeur Sanders’ immediate successor. Even Shedeur himself was heavily involved in Lewis’ recruitment to the Colorado Buffaloes. However, Coach Prime chose to explore other quarterback options for most of the season.
When Lewis finally saw playing time late in the year, questions arose about whether he would take a redshirt this season.
Deion Sanders Opens Up About Julian Lewis’ Redshirt Decision
College football rules allow players to redshirt if they participate in four or fewer games in a season. On Tuesday, Sanders decided to use this option for Lewis, who will sit out Colorado’s next game to preserve his redshirt status. Coach Prime announced the decision in his Tuesday press conference.
“That’s my decision,” Sanders said. “I want what’s best for the kid, what’s best for his family, what’s best for this wonderful university that has given me the tremendous opportunity and given him the opportunity.”
“I’m not going to say he was happy because he’s a competitor. He wants to compete. He wants to play. His father, they cut from the same cloth. We had that conversation as well, not that he forced it, that I know him.”
With this decision, Lewis finished the season with 589 yards and four touchdowns across four games. He started in Colorado’s 29-22 loss to West Virginia on Nov. 8, throwing for 299 yards and two touchdowns, as well as the 42-17 loss to Arizona State last week, where he passed for 161 yards and a touchdown.
Lewis was a magnificent player during his career with Carrollton High School in Georgia. He threw for more than 10,000 yards and 140+ touchdowns during that stretch, finishing his high school career with a 39-4 record.
Sanders also praised Lewis’ leadership during the press conference.
“He has a tremendous probability and opportunity to lead,” Sanders said. “As each game goes and grows, you’re seeing more and more of that…He’s trying to lead that as a young freshman. That’s a lot to ask, but you can give him some guidelines and some intangibles that he needs to work on, and he’s done that, man. I’m proud of the youngster.”
After finishing the 2024 season with a 9-4 record, Colorado has struggled throughout this season following the departures of Shedeur and Travis Hunter. The Buffaloes are currently 3-8 with a tOLi score of 76.8 on PFSN’s CFB metrics.
As Colorado can’t qualify for a bowl game with only three wins this season, the upcoming game at Kansas State will be relatively low stakes for the program. The Buffaloes will return Kaidon Salter under center, with Ryan Staub serving as the backup for the game.
