Colorado’s potential 2026 starter, Julian Lewis, has every opportunity to prove himself as the leader this team so desperately needs after a 3-9 season in 2025. This is much-needed, as Colorado and Deion Sanders have struggled with quarterback consistency since Shedeur Sanders’ move to the NFL.
Deion Sanders’ Challenge Meets Teammate Praise for Julian Lewis’ Explosive Talent
Lewis seems promising to lead the Colorado offense after Kaidon Salter wasn’t able to fill that role properly last season. Coach Prime has added competition in the quarterback room with former Utes QB Isaac Wilson and three-star recruit Kaneal Sweetwyne.
Lewis was passed over in a spring camp drill in favor of Sweetwyne, and while Coach Prime made it clear on Friday that nothing will be handed to him, he did praise the former five-star recruit.
“There’s an old brittle when I was a kid that we used to sing and say he’d be coming around the mountain when he comes, he’d be coming around the mountain, he’d be coming over that, that’s who he [Lewis] is,” Sanders said. “We’re looking, and we’re waiting for him to come around the mountain when you come.”
“But I feel like by the time we snap that first snap at Georgia Tech, he’ll be coming around the mountain. He’ll be straight. We have a couple of quarterbacks on the roster that can play this game.”
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Sanders has also set a clear benchmark for Lewis, saying, “30 points per game is our threshold.”
After a three-win season, that is a demanding but fitting standard. Lewis appeared in four games in 2025, completing 52 of 94 passes for 589 yards, earning a 64.1 rating in PFSN’s College Football QB Impact Metric.
As spring ball approaches, all eyes will be on Lewis, who has been working to earn the trust of his coaches and teammates. New Colorado wide receiver Danny Scudero said Lewis’s leadership and skill were immediately evident.
“Juju was also one of the first players I met here, and he was at our dinner that Friday night,” Scudero said. “He definitely welcomed me here, and I was texting him before I came on my visit. So just the fact that he reached out showed a lot of interest, and the talent that kid has is really crazy.”
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“He can make any throw. He’s a smart kid, and he’s a very, very good quarterback. He is a guy that understands the game very well. So it was definitely a good part, where as a receiver, I mean, you want to go into offense with a good offensive coordinator and a good quarterback, and Colorado checks both those boxes.”
Colorado offensive coordinator Brennan Marion, who was hired in December 2025, is known for developing quarterbacks and is expected to provide a system that should allow Lewis to continue growing and adapting his playstyle with the Buffaloes.
