Coach Deion Sanders confirmed freshman Julian “JuJu” Lewis will start at quarterback for Colorado.
Lewis has played in two games and can play in two more before losing his redshirt eligibility.
Both Colorado and their next opponent, West Virginia, are 3-6 and will start freshman quarterbacks.
Colorado football coach Deion Sanders confirmed Tuesday, Nov. 4, that he will start freshman Julian “JuJu” Lewis at quarterback in his team’s next game Saturday at West Virginia − part of a plan to salvage Sanders third season in charge of the Buffaloes after a 3-6 start.
Sanders gave a simple response when asked why he was turning to the 18-year-old Lewis after starting two other quarterbacks this season already.
“Common sense,” Sanders said at his weekly news conference in Boulder.
Colorado is coming off a disastrous two-game skid after its best performance of the season – a win at home against Iowa State on Oct. 11.
First came Sanders’ worst loss as a college coach – a 53-7 defeat at Utah on Oct. 25. Then came his worst loss at home in Boulder, a 52-17 loss against Arizona on Nov. 1.
Sanders benched senior starting quarterback Kaidon Salter in the second quarter of the last game, possibly ending his college career in disappointment after he previously led Liberty to a 13-1 season in 2023. But Sanders did say Tuesday that Salter “probably” would be the backup quarterback at West Virginia.
Both Colorado and West Virginia are 3-6 with three games remaining. Both will play freshman quarterbacks with the Mountaineers starting Scotty Fox Jr.
It will be Lewis’ first college start after playing as a reserve in two previous games this season. It’s also the latest evidence that Colorado has struggled since losing Sanders’ quarterback son, Shedeur, to the NFL.
Deion Sanders addresses team’s skid
Sanders did not make players available for interviews with the news media Tuesday as is customary each week. it’s the second time he’s declined to make players available for interviews since the Arizona game on Saturday, Nov. 1.
Sanders still said his team is “trending in the right direction” despite the last two games. He was referring to what he says he sees in practice on a daily basis, not what happens on game days.
Asked about making any changes with his coaching staff, Sanders said, “I might have already changed it, and you don’t know. I don’t do stuff and blow the whistles and make major announcements.”
Can Julian Lewis still redshirt for Colorado?
Players can play in up to four games in a football season before losing a season of college eligibility. Colorado needs to win all three of its remaining games to become eligible for a bowl game.
Lewis has played in two games so far as a freshman and only attempted four passes before last week. So the smart play for Colorado might be to play him in the next two games and see how it goes. If he wins both games, he would have a decision to make before the regular-season finale − burn a redshirt year in CU’s quest to make a bowl game or sit out and start over in 2026 as a redshirt freshman with four seasons of college eligibility remaining through 2029.
Lewis entered the Arizona game in the second half and completed nine of 17 passes for 121 yards and a touchdown. He came out of the game late in the fourth quarter with an apparent hand jury but Sanders said “he’s good” now.
“He’s throwing the heck out of the ball,” Sanders said.
Deion Sanders loses, wins in recruiting
Before getting blown out by Arizona, Sanders also suffered another loss that day.
His name is Kavian Bryant, a five-star quarterback prospect out of Palestine, Texas. Bryant announced Saturday that he has committed to Texas Tech for 2027 after also considering Colorado, Texas, SMU and Florida State.
The fact that Lewis still could be on Colorado’s roster in 2027 and 2028 probably didn’t help make Boulder more attractive to Bryant.
On Tuesday, Sanders did land another top recruit for 2027, Alex Ward out of IMG Academy in Florida. Ward is listed as the No. 14 athlete prospect for 2027, according to 247Sports composite rankings.
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com