BOULDER — Julian Lewis would have an easier time filling Lemuel Gulliver’s shoes.
Following Shedeur Sanders on center stage is like following James Brown, Frank Sinatra or a three-hour Beatles reunion show. The audience, already elated and spoiled by genius, is screaming for a third encore when a stagehand shoves you through an open curtain and into the fire.
The biggest empty cleats in the Big 12 are Sanders’ Nikes — a legacy that stretches 4,134 passing yards (CU single-season record) long and 64 touchdowns (CU’s career passing mark) deep. Other than that, no pressure, Ju Ju. Not a whit.
“It’s definitely a blessing for me to have a guy like him that just came over top of me,” said Lewis, the true freshman and five-star prep quarterback signee who will compete for the Buffs’ vacant QB1 slot for the next five months.
“I mean, me and Shedeur talked about (how) we kind of came in (from) different paths. Like I didn’t start off at (Jackson State) and all that stuff. But just looking at it from another black quarterback, it’s always good to hear from even the older guys … that have retired, stuff like that, just understanding their path, it’s just — it’s humbling.”
It’s going to be fascinating, too. Just as NFL scouts haven’t seen much yet of Shedeur when he wasn’t coached by his dad, nobody’s seen what a Power 4 Deion Sanders college team looks like without Son of Prime running the offense the way Hendrix ran the Experience.
Was it the father? Or the son? Or is the truth somewhere in between?
The answers will likely come down to who eventually wins the job from the group of Lewis, the highly regarded Georgia teen; Liberty transfer Kaidon Salter, a dual-threat Texan with four years of FBS experience; and holdover Ryan Staub, the good soldier who almost led CU to an upset win at Utah two Novembers ago.
For the first time in the Coach Prime Era, we’re starting at an honest-to-goodness QB derby.
“It’s not that deep,” Buffs offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur said of the competition. “You bring in new players and they come in and compete their butts off. And our responsibility as coaches is to make sure we play the best player.”
Know this: Neither Lewis nor Salter are as polished in the pocket as Shedeur was when he arrived on campus. Skeptics whisper that the latter sometimes struggles with accuracy and that the former might be too small to take a collegiate pounding.
“I’ve got more to prove to myself than anybody else,” Lewis said Tuesday. “I’ve been getting called overrated since I was 7. So, it’s kind of like — it kind of is what it is on that part of football. But I just want to go in and ball out.”
“Everybody (knows) I have no problem with running,” Salter said. “It’s something that a lot of teams won’t be able to stop whenever they do throw me out there to do those types of things.”
Shedeur raised expectations many levels that it’s hard to pick just one that you’ll miss most. But after ball placement, third-down conversions and red-zone acumen, the “clutch” gene springs to mind — and the stats back it up.
During games in which CU was tied or trailing by a touchdown or less in 2023, the Buffs QB completed 69.6% of his passes for 11 scores against two picks and a 120.8 passer rating. In 2024, he was even better, with a 75.3% completion rate, 12 scores versus four picks and a 134.1 passer rating.
While Shedeur was consistent in close games, Salter was all over the place in those same situations over the past 18 months. During an excellent 2023 campaign, the senior connected on 72.7% of his throws when Liberty was tied or trailed by seven or fewer, with 17 scores, two interceptions and a stellar 146.8 passer rating. Last fall? A 48.2% completion rate, five scores, three picks and a 68.5 passer rating.
“We have to determine who the best guy is,” Shurmur said. “And God-willing, we have a number of guys that could be the best guy, and they just go out there and compete.”
Best keep those rosary beads within arm’s length. Ju Ju’s listed on the Buffs’ official roster at 6-foot-1. Up close, he looks a bit shorter. Wish him luck. Because the bar Shedeur left figures to take one absolute beast of a leap to match, let alone clear.
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