Colorado head football coach Deion Sanders barely had believers during the Buffs’ rise to the Big 12 title picture during a 9-3 regular season, but it seems he has practically none now without his son Shedeur Sanders under center.
USA Today’s Matt Hayes believes Coach Prime’s quarterback options for the 2025 season, Liberty transfer Kaidon Salter and four-star Carrolton (GA) product Julian Lewis, aren’t good enough to lead CU anywhere close to the Big 12 Championship Game.
Hayes floated Nico Iamaleava, who left Tennessee via the transfer portal on Saturday, as a potential leader who can make the Buffs relevant in 2025.
“Like North Carolina, a no-brainer. Liberty transfer Kaiden Salter is the projected starter, and freshman Julian Lewis the future,” Hayes wrote.
“But if CU coach Deion Sanders could get Iamaleava, it would be a game-changer. Imagine the Buffaloes' offense, so dangerous with Shedeur Sanders the last two seasons, with Iamaleava’s big arm and run threat.
“Any combination of Salter and Lewis isn’t getting Colorado to the Big 12 championship game. Iamaleava could.”
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Iamaleava is almost certainly not going to the Buffs.
Coach Prime has explicitly stated that “Colorado isn’t an ATM.” NIL is the direct cause of Iamaleava and UT’s irreconcilable issues. Never mind offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur claiming that Colorado was specifically looking for a bridge-year QB with one year of eligibility left before signing Salter.
The main takeaway here is that Salter and Lewis are being severely doubted heading into year three of “Prime Time” in Boulder.
Just like every Sanders-coached Buffs team before them.