Deion Sanders' Quarterback Qualms Spell Disaster For Colorado Buffaloes

It's not the first time Sanders' Buffs have faced catastrophe early on, as last year's week 2 loss to the Nebraska Cornhuskers sparked similar gripes that the "Coach Prime" era was waning. However, it was quickly scrubbed clean as quarterback Shedeur Sanders, wide receiver Travis Hunter and other NFL-bound stars led the Buffs to win seven of their next eight games.

Colorado now lacks identity, a true face other than Sanders' furrowed brow in signature sunglasses. No trophy-stacking duo, immortalized in Folsom Field's inner walls, is coming to save them. Leadership between the hashes is scarce, strengths aren't clear, but weaknesses are glaring.

The Buffaloes' quarterback situation exemplifies an absence that could loosen Sanders' grip on the locker room and invoke a season of dysfunction. Coach Prime laid out a timeline without a plan under center, and during Friday's loss, he reaped the seeds of doubt.

"I have no idea," said Sanders of the plan at quarterback going forward. "Right now, I'm not thinking about that. I'm thinking about what transpired. . . I'm trying to self-analyze what I can do better."

Colorado Signal Callers' Signals Are Crossed

In July, Sanders chose quarterbacks Kaidon Salter and Julian Lewis to speak at Big 12 Media Day. The move was unusual, but outside concerns were minimal.

The blueprint looked like a lay-up: Colorado would roll with the experienced Salter and let Lewis learn unless duty called, then take the keys in 2026.

Rumors suggest Lewis flipped his commitment to the Buffaloes from USC due to promised early playing time, so Sanders could simply placate the touted freshman through media exposure and low-leverage reps.

But uncertainty lingered, especially after three quarterbacks — Salter, Lewis and Ryan Staub — took the podium at Colorado's Fall Sports Media Day.

That was until Sanders scoffed at the media's questioning of who would start in week 1 against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. It was Salter, through and through.

But a mere week later, it was Lewis's time. Salter would start again after a less-than-stellar Colorado debut, but Lewis would get a shot against the Delaware Blue Hens, regardless of circumstance.

And then, up just three late in the first half, Staub sailed in from left field to steal the show and cut Lewis's first college reps short. The redshirt sophomore rode a wave that left him and Salter deflated, from sure things to behind a third-stringer by no fault of their own.

In just 10 throws, Staub was named the starter for Colorado's Big 12 opener against Houston.

Starting Staub The Wrong Call?

The Staub bandwagon teetered off its tracks against the Cougars, because that's exactly what it was. Lest one forgets, his breakout came against Delaware, a school making its first steps in the FBS, not nearly a powerhouse.

While it's fair to ride the hot hand, Sanders wasn't calculated. He was rash, wishfully thinking a feel-good story (even invoking Rudy in the process) could answer a season's prayers rather than sticking with whom he and his staff spent an offseason nurturing.

In the rubble are three dazed quarterbacks, each talented yet mentally shot by Sanders' jumbled methodology.

Perhaps this conundrum's most concerning element is that, before Friday at least, Sanders was perfectly okay with it. Without his son shoring up football's most important position, Coach Prime appears unfamiliar with the John Madden-ism that if you have two quarterbacks, you have none.

So what does that make three?

"A solidified quarterback. . . Who has one of those? What does that look like?" Sanders said at last Tuesday's weekly presser. "I like where we are. I like what we have. I like what we're playing with. I like these dice I'm shaking."

Hindsight is undefeated, but this gamble could drive the Buffaloes into bankruptcy.

At 1-2 with a face plant against one of the Big 12's less formidable foes, this season could take a tailspin if coaches can't take decisive next steps. If Sanders is "lost for words" after any loss as explainable as Friday's, Colorado's direction in 2025 will be just as aimless.