Spring football is like that spin-off between breaks in the canon of a TV series. You’re yearning for some football, but there’s just too big a gap between January and September. Your team’s makeup and personnel have turned on their heads, and you want a teaser of what to expect. 15 days of practice in breezy, summery weather. 2 of which are strictly non-contact. Not allowed to exceed 4 hours a day. Followed by an inter-program exhibition showcase to get a taste for game situations and warm yourself to the fans if you’re new. Then go back to sitting in lectures in class, waiting for August to roll about. The idiosyncrasy of it all is meshed with the first chance for true freshmen to showcase their mettle. That they belong at this level. That’s an opportunity awaiting 5-star QB Julian Lewis at Colorado.
The hype train that is the Colorado Buffaloes was widely speculated to come to a halt at the end of this season. This notion was comprehensible. Superstar duo Shedeur Sanders’ and Travis Hunter’s imminent ascension to the NFL spawned questions of whether the program’s upturn has run its course. Whether HC Deion Sanders will even stick around in Boulder. In this state of uncertainty, the Buffs onboarded JuJu Lewis as the long-term answer at quarterback. However, he may not be the answer in the short term.
Deion dipped his feet into the transfer portal, something that’s been his modus operandi at Colorado. He acquired quarterback Kaidon Salter from Liberty. Now, JuJu and Kaidon are in a battle for the QB1 shirt vacated by Shedeur. Step 1 in finding the winner? Spring camp is beginning in a couple of weeks. A couple of Colorado reporters/insiders discussed how 17-year-old Lewis can leapfrog the senior, more experienced Salter.
Salter may not be a household name amidst Power 4 circles, but he’s a star in his own right. He’s even got hardware to show for it. Now stepping into his redshirt senior year, Kaidon is a Conference USA Champion with the Liberty Flames in 2023. He threw a program-record 32 touchdown passes that season. That is only one facet of this true dual-threat QB. Kaidon has garnered over 2000 yards rushing across 3 seasons, with 21 rushing TDs. He’s unequivocally a QB1-caliber player.
Over the DNVR Sports YouTube channel, Ryan Koenigsberg, Jake Schwanitz and Scott Procter asked a simple question. Who has more to gain in spring between the two signal-callers. The answer was a consensus Julian Lewis. In fact, there is belief JuJu could lay the groundwork to win the job in the fall.
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“I think [Lewis] has a chance to show that that gap is not as wide as it should be,” said Koenigsberg. He spoke about the age gap potentially being a non-factor due to Lewis being a “unicorn” with “a sense of maturity” “If he were to come in spring and just show like, ‘Yeah. I can go throw for throw with [Salter]. I can go decision for decision with this guy who’s been in college for a long time. Think that’ll put him in a really good position,” he continued. His co-host Jake Schwanitz proceeded along similar lines.
“JuJu has the most to gain. Because he could walk away after these 15 practices having changed the perception of him.” he remarked. “His teammates can walk away from those 15 practices like, ‘Oh. This guy can do it right now.’” Scott Proctor tied a bow to the discussion by lining out the specificities of how Lewis can land the job.“If you show that you can make every throw. You can handle the operation at the line of scrimmage. Checking into different plays, identifying coverages and defensive fronts. That’s something that could really make Julian Lewis appear to his teammates like somebody who can really take this thing over as a true freshman,” claimed Proctor.
Dropping a kind straight into the deep end could be counterproductive to their development. But JuJu has the tools, if he can handle the stage and pressure. Give Deion Sanders a decision to make. After all, Prime did go all-out to acquire him. So much so that he even broke the rules and got them into trouble with the NCAA.
Julian Lewis’ QB battle with Kaidon Salter preceded by NCAA probe into his move to Colorado
Tampering can be a loosely thrown-around umbrella term. But trying to cut corners on the recruitment front is pretty prevalent across the CFB landscape. Even those that abuse the malpractice lament it but can’t cease their actions in order to stay competitive. The cutthroat nature of the sport facilitates those involved to try and find loopholes. JuJu Lewis’ path to Boulder was far from linear. For the longest time, it seemed like he was destined to link with quarterback whisperer Lincoln Riley at USC. He eventually ended up in Colorado. As quickly and last minute as all this transpired, Deion Sanders was obviously privy to it before the masses. The problem is, he let his excitement get the better of him. Deion made a lapse of judgment and got duly reprimanded for it.
USA Today reported that Deion Sanders has been charged with a “minor NCAA violation.” Its 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 permitted to publicly comment on their high school recruits before they officially sign. It’s an understandable bit of legislation, 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.
Adversity gives JuJu a chance to recalibrate and not get ahead of himself. This, in conjunction with the QB battle with Kaidon Salter, is a trial by fire. The reprimand for Deion Sanders’ violation isn’t too harsh. Neither is it too bad to redshirt as a freshman. But it’s not set in stone anyways. JuJu can still come out of preseason atop the depth chart. With Coach Prime at the helm, nothing is outside the realm of possibilities.
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