Florida State Seminoles Copy Colorado Buffaloes, Shedeur Sanders Recruiting Photo

As they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

No matter who had the original idea, it seems as though this style of photoshoot for quarterback recruits is a rather useful recruiting tool for college programs.

The photo of Castellanos and O'Neal was taken on O'Neal's visit to Florida State. A few days after his trip, the quarterback recruit decommitted from the Oklahoma Sooners and quickly flipped to the Seminoles.

Similarly, Lewis took his photo with Sanders on a visit to Colorado while Lewis was still committed to the USC Trojans. It took some more time for the Buffaloes to flip Lewis away from USC, but Lewis eventually decommitted from USC before flipping to "Coach Prime" and Colorado in November of 2024.

Although Sanders and Lewis did not overlap at Colorado, the newest Buffaloes quarterback still has a relationship with the Cleveland Browns rookie. Lewis enrolled early at Colorado in December, and he spoke to reporters about some of his conversations with Sanders after a spring practice for the Buffaloes:

"It's definitely a blessing for me to have a guy like him. Me and Shedeur talked about it. We kind of came in different paths, like I didn't start off at [Jackson State] and all of that stuff. But just looking at it from another black quarterback is always good to hear from, even the older guys that have retired. Just understanding their path, it's humbling," said Lewis.

As one of the top quarterback prospects in the class of 2026, Lewis is expected to be the signal-caller of the future for the Buffaloes. Although Sanders might have handed him the keys to the program for a recruiting photoshoot, Lewis might spend 2025 as the backup quarterback at Colorado.

"Coach Prime" has a quarterback competition on his hands with Liberty transfer Kaidon Salter and Lewis vying for the starting job. Many expect Salter, the more experienced player, to get the nod.

Only time will tell, as Lewis, Salter and the Buffaloes begin their season against Georgia Tech on Aug. 29.