Colorado head coach Deion Sanders played three different quarterbacks in the team’s win against Delaware.
Staub outplayed presumed starter Kaidon Salter and highly-touted freshman Julian ‘JuJu’ Lewis.
Sanders has not publicly named a starting quarterback for the team’s next game against Houston.
BOULDER, CO. – Deion Sanders’ quarterback controversy at Colorado has taken a shocking new turn.
After starting the season with Liberty transfer quarterback Kaidon Salter, the Colorado head football coach decided to give freshman quarterback Julian “JuJu” Lewis some playing time in the second quarter of Saturday’s game against Delaware.
But then came the big surprise. Sanders also put in his No. 3 quarterback, Ryan Staub, who promptly stole the show and led the team to three touchdowns in four possessions in a 31-7 win at Folsom Field.
So what now for the Buffaloes (1-1)?
Who’s their quarterback when they open Big 12 Conference play Friday at Houston?
“I know exactly how I’m going to handle the quarterback situation,” Deion Sanders said afterward. “I’m not going to say it. But yeah, I’m not lost for direction.”
Why did Deion Sanders play three quarterbacks?
This development is wild on many levels. Salter and Lewis got all the attention before the season as they competed to replace Deion’s quarterback son, Shedeur Sanders, now with the NFL’s Cleveland Browns.
Could it be that the answer to replace Shedeur is the quarterback who’s been there all along?
Staub was Shedeur’s backup at quarterback in 2023 and 2024. He hardly ever played and only started one game, in the 2023 season finale at Utah, a 23-17 loss.
Deion Sanders planned before the game to give each of the three quarterbacks two series of play to start the game against Delaware. The fact that Staub outplayed the other two to earn more playing time is the twist that hardly anyone saw coming.
“I decided that two days ago,” Sanders said. “And I prayed a lot about it. I wanted it to tell its own story. Instead of me telling a story, I wanted it tell its own story. So the plan was each quarterback was going to get two series apiece. And that’s what they did. And somebody was going to come out of the pack.”
Staub, a sophomore from Stevenson Ranch, California, said he didn’t even know he’d play until Friday. He could have transferred away after not getting much playing time his first two years. But he said he decided to stay in part because he “fell in love with the process” at Colorado and had a dream. He said he ‘stuck my head down and decided to keep working.’
‘It’s crazy to be rewarded this way,’ Staub said. ‘It doesn’t really feel real. But I’m also looking forward to next week. We need to get back to work.’
How did each quarterback do for Colorado?
Staub entered the game Saturday with 45 seconds left in the first half, with Colorado leading 10-7. He left the game early in the fourth quarter with Colorado leading 31-7.
∎ Staub played four series and completed 7 of 10 passes for 157 yards and two touchdowns for a passer rating of 267.9.
∎ Salter, who is playing his final season of college eligibility, also played four series and completed 13 of 16 passes for 102 yards and no touchdowns for a passer rating of 134.8. He started the game’s first two series, which ended with a 9-yard touchdown run by him, a 28-yard field goal and a 10-0 lead. He didn’t return until after Staub’s four-series flourish in the second and third quarters. Both of Salter’s final two series ended in punts.
∎ Lewis, the heralded 17-year-old recruit, played three series and completed 2 of 4 passes for 8 yards and a passer rating of 66.8. His only series after the second quarter came on the final possession, when his job was to kneel down and kill the clock. His only two series in the second quarter ended with punts.
‘We’re crossing some bridges to find out who our best guys are still,’ Colorado offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur said.
Regarding Lewis, Sanders noted his youth and said that the team didn’t want to throw too much at him.
He had more to say about Staub, calling him ‘unflappable’ after his star turn in front of an announced crowd of 50,341.
‘Staub don’t trip, man,’ Sanders said.
Ryan Staub flashed Shedeur Sanders’ wrist move
Staub started his performance with two incomplete passes at the Colorado 25-yard line. Then on third down, Colorado running back DeKalon Taylor burst free for a 23-yard gain, bringing the Buffs to midfield with less than 30 seconds left in the half.
Staub then hit receiver Joseph Williams upfield for a 31-yard completion before spiking the ball on the next play to stop the clock at 16 seconds left before halftime. On the next play, Staub found Taylor open for a 21-yard touchdown pass.
“We got that big run on third down, kind of got things rolling, and then yean, I got that big play, and we were marching from there,” Staub said. “I had good confidence, and we were rolling.”
It kept rolling after halftime when Staub led Colorado on a three-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a 71-yard touchdown pass on the right side of the field to receiver Sincere Brown. Afterward, Staub flexed his wrist to celebrate, much like Shedeur did at Colorado before him.
“I’ve been blessed to be able to sit behind him for two years, and I got to see everything that he did and the way he does things, day in and day out, the way he sees stuff in the film room,” Staub said. “I’ve been right there behind it, and I’ve tried to take as much as I can from him, because he’s going to have an amazing career. He’s an amazing quarterback. And yeah, just the past couple years sitting behind him has really helped me.”
The Colorado student section even chanted Staub’s name.
‘I was just hoping for an opportunity,’ Staub said. ‘To be honest, this whole week I wasn’t really expected to play… Friday I kind of got the call.’
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com