Deion Sanders’ Colorado team is going to look much different this season with Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter and star quarterback Shedeur Sanders now in the NFL.
At the quarterback spot, there’s a two-man battle in camp between senior transfer Kaidon Salter and freshman Julian Lewis for the starting job. Salter comes to Colorado from Liberty, where he thrived in 2023 but had a down 2024 campaign, while Lewis was a highly-touted recruit out of Georgia and figures to be the future of the program.
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As for who gets to be the QB of the present, we likely won’t find that out officially until much closer to the Aug. 29 opener against Georgia Tech. Offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur gave an update on the QB battle in Boulder on Friday and said both are “doing extremely well,” and explained the process they’re going through right now is one that heavily involves both QBs.
“I call it quarterback development. We’ll develop a plan, who plays and when, once we get to the game,” Shurmur said. “But right now, as we go through the installations, we demand that they all learn everything that we’re doing. I see good progress each day. The way this thing works, especially the first eight days, you have eight installations. So as you can imagine, in the meeting room setting or the academic setting, you teach them something, they go out and practice it. Then the next day we teach them something new then they have to go back and review because now the two installs apply to that practice, and then three and so on. It’s a process.
“They’re both very, very smart guys. Juju obviously is much younger. So this process is a little bit foreign to him, but Kaden has got a lot of experience and is used to it. But I think they’re both doing extremely well.”
The last portion of the quote talking about Lewis being younger and having to learn the install process, while Salter has experience and is more comfortable doing it, is probably the most telling part of what Shurmur said. Talent is only one part of what coaches are looking for, and if Salter is able to run the offense and manage the huddle better, he’ll likely start the season under center even if Lewis is the more talented passer.
Even if that’s the case, the “who plays and when” line makes it sound like they’re going to find ways to get Lewis on the field and get him some valuable in-game reps. We’ll have to wait until the end of the month to find out exactly what that plan is, but right now Salter seems most likely to start unless Lewis really blows the coaching staff away with not only his arm talent but his command of the offense over the next four weeks of practice.
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