Life after Shedeur Sanders was never going to be easy for the Colorado Buffaloes. The program’s star quarterback is now in the NFL, leaving behind massive shoes to fill and a culture that his father, head coach Deion Sanders, is determined to preserve. Just when it seemed the team was stuck in a quarterback carousel, a redshirt freshman who was third on the depth chart a week ago just made the decision for everyone.
How Did Ryan Staub Seize the Starting Quarterback Job?
For weeks, the Buffaloes tried to find their guy, rotating between redshirt freshman Ryan Staub, freshman Julian Lewis, and Kaidon Salter. While Coach Sanders is known for shaking things up, he acknowledged that a team cannot win a championship with constant switching at the most important position.
Instead of playing musical chairs, Colorado needed a leader to step up. That leader finally revealed himself in Colorado’s 31-7 win over Delaware. With the game still within reach, Staub stepped onto the field and completely changed its rhythm. He threw for two touchdown passes, commanded the offense with a calmness that defied his experience, and helped turn a tight contest into a decisive victory.
The crowd saw it, his teammates felt it, and Sanders, watching closely from the sideline, knew exactly what he had just witnessed.
“Not only did he take advantage of it, he was ready for it,” Sanders said after the game. “And he’s now such a team guy… I want to see how my players are reacting. I want to see who’s up, who’s playing around, who’s intense, who is ready to play, who’s supporting one another. And one thing about Staub, when those other guys out there, he’s right there… He’s in the game 100%.”
For Sanders, the performance went beyond the box score. It was a reflection of the program’s core values, reminding him of his son, Shedeur, who showed the same energy and commitment long before becoming the face of the program. Sanders noted that Shedeur, now a quarterback for the Cleveland Browns, once thrived as a backup by staying locked in and prepared for his moment.
“That’s who we are. That’s what we teach,” he said, drawing a direct line between his son’s past success and Staub’s present opportunity.
The decision to name Staub the starter against Houston signals more than a lineup change; it reaffirms the team’s identity. The 2025 Buffaloes are a program in transition, searching for leaders in the post-Shedeur and Travis Hunter era.
Now, Staub isn’t just playing for his starting job. He is playing for the trust of his locker room and a fan base hungry to see if Colorado can continue competing in a loaded Big 12 conference. The road ahead will not be easy, but as Sanders sees it, Staub has already proven he has the one quality that matters most: the courage to be ready when the moment arrives.