The Colorado Buffaloes starting quarterback for the 2026 looks to be redshirt freshman Julian Lewis. Colorado coach Deion Sanders went on “CFB Scoop w/ Dukes” to talk about his second year quarterback.
Julian Lewis signed with Colorado as four-star recruit in their 2025 high school recruiting class. As a true freshman, he played in four games, starting a handful of games towards the end of the 2025 season. Now, Lewis will enter Colorado’s first game of the 2026 season against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets as the projected starter.
“He has all the intangibles that you need to be successful. Let’s do it. Let’s study. Let’s prepare,” Sanders said about Lewis on CFB Scoop. “These receivers are trying to go pro, so they’re depending on you. I’m not putting no pressure, but I want you to apply pressure…Just play your game.”
Sanders added that there are a lot of former captains and older players on this Colorado that can take over more of the leadership type roles; such as calling huddles, meetings, etc. For Lewis this season, Coach Prime just wants him to worry about playing the best football he can.
In his four games last season, Lewis showed that he has the makeup to be the full-time starting quarterback in Boulder. Lewis threw for 589 yards with four touchdowns and zero interceptions. Colorado never quite figured out the quarterback position in 2025 and that severely limited their offense.
The Buffaloes averaged 20.9 points per game, which ranked 116 out of 136 FBS teams in the country. Their quarterback for most of the year was the veteran dual-threat from the Liberty Flames, Kaidon Salter. Salter is now in the CFL with the BC Lions.
It wasn’t just Salter and Lewis who started games for Colorado in 2025. Backup quarterback Ryan Staub also got the starting nod for an early season road game against the Houston Cougars. Colorado would lose this game and Staub never started another game. He entered the transfer portal this past offseason and is now with the Tennessee Volunteers.
2026 will be a big year for Coach Prime and his Buffaloes. This is the fourth year in Boulder for Sanders. There have been mixed results to this point, with Sanders accumulating an overall record of 16-21 since getting there in 2023.
Sanders took over a Colorado program that was coming off a one-win 2022 season. They showed improvement in 2023, going 4-8 in the first year under Coach Prime. 2024 was a breakout season for Colorado. They went 9-4, the most wins for the program since 2016. In 2025, there was regression.
Colorado went 3-9, missing a bowl game for the second time in three seasons on Sanders’ watch. Will Colorado be able to get back to a bowl game in 2026 or will their struggles from the 2025 season end up carrying over?
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