Things never slow down in Boulder. Not even when Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter wouldn’t be playing another snap in Black and Gold. A new era is locked in with a fresh set of QBs. Did it ever cross your mind that Deion Sanders would panic a little? Maybe even look at the transfer portal for you know, a just-in-case scenario, especially when a name like Nico Iamaleava pops up? The kid literally dragged Tennessee to their first college football playoff ever. But nope, the third-year Buffs HC isn’t flinching.
Deion Sanders isn’t chasing quarterbacks. Not when he has two guys he believes in—Kaidon Salter and Julian Lewis. In a new episode on Prime Time for College Football on April 13, the Colorado insider laid it bare—“Colorado was not about to be any way concerned about taking another quarterback. The Buffs are good in that spot. With the two that they have, those two can do a great job of leading them very far in the Big 12 because, I mean the Big 12 is very competitive, but I think the Buffs have a good chance of repeating at nine wins with a Salters and even a Lewis leading the way. So I’m not too worried about that.” So yeah, there’s no entertaining Nico Iamaleava. No debate.
If you’ve been keeping a tab on the Deion Sanders’ squad, you know this QB battle is about to define the 2025 season. Kaidon Salter was a force at Liberty in 2023. He went 13-1 to become the Conference USA MVP and a dual-threat nightmare for defenses, throwing for 2,876 yards and 32 TDs with an additional 1,089 yards and 12 scores on the ground. Yeah, his 2024 season wasn’t as impressive, throwing for just 1,886 yards and 15 TDs, but Colorado’s stacked weapons may be a game-changer.
Then there’s Julian Lewis, whom almost everyone in Boulder recruited in 2024. The 17-year-old reclassified, flipped from USC, and rolled into Colorado. He left high school with two Gatorade Player of the Year honors and 11,010 yards and 144 TDs in just three seasons! The only downside about this No. 2 player in 2025 is if he can keep up with the speed and physicality of college football. So you see, no crisis at QB as of now. So no wonder Deion Sanders is indifferent about the Nico situation.
Deion Sanders claps back at Nico Iamaleava rumors
Back to Nico Iamaleava’s saga. Word dropped from a Knoxville insider, Richard G. West, that the former Tennessee QB has been in talks with three schools—Oregon, Ohio State, and Colorado. Makes sense right? SEC rules block him from transferring to another SEC school in the spring. And then a Colorado fan who goes by dalvinthetruth on X posted, “Yeah right bro could never come to cu and play them money games.” Deion Sanders didn’t waste time. He retweeted it and added, “Not True. & God bless we Good.”
Colorado’s not going after Nico Iamaleava, who has a $4M tag on him. They’re confident in what they’ve got. Can Salter or Lewis up the game and improve the Buffs’ score from their 9-4 season under Shedeur? As for the QB battle, Deion Sanders is keeping a close watch, and there’s one thing that’s going to separate them—“Leadership.” “Being able to see the field, being able to rally those guys around you,” he said. “You got to understand, you got to have a bonafide leader.”
So while everyone is panicking about depth charts and portal pickups, Colorado is locked in. No distractions. Just a QB battle that could shape the Big 12. Deion Sanders’ boys are about to make some serious noise.
The post Insider Eyes Kaidon Salter & Julian Lewis-Led Colorado Rise After Deion Sanders Rejects Nico Iamaleava Buzz appeared first on EssentiallySports.