The Colorado Buffaloes are officially entering a new era. After a disappointing Alamo Bowl loss to BYU (36-14), the Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter show is over. Both are projected to be first-round NFL Draft picks, leaving big shoes to fill in Boulder. But don’t worry; Coach Prime has already reloaded. That too with a ‘great leader.’

Deion landed 5-star quarterback Julian Lewis, a QB who’s already turning heads nationwide. This dude’s got Heisman hype written all over him. And the best part? Lewis was already hanging around the team before the Alamo Bowl even happened. He’s a natural leader who is all in for the Buffs. And a former Stanford O-lineman even said he’s ready to take the reins in Colorado. Sounds like he’s got what it takes.

On December 31, former lineman and Fanstake VP Andrew Phillips posted a picture of Julian Lewis on his X with the message, “What a way to end 2024.” The piece also included the announcement that Carrollton High School’s record-breaking signal-caller has partnered with Fanstake, a fan-driven NIL platform. Now fans have a direct role in luring elite players and keeping transfer targets. “An incoming freshman doing an equity deal to raise money for his future teammates’ NIL opportunities is great leadership by @JulianLewis10 and a sign of things to come,” Phillips added in the tweet.

Fanstake lets fans directly support athletes they want to see at their college by pledging financial ‘stakes.’ Julian Lewis is the first athlete to use this platform. Even during Christmas, he was posting about needing a few more ‘gifts’ because the Buffs were going after top transfers like Kevin Concepcion, Ethan O’Connor, and Tawiq Byard. Now, after asking fans to contribute, CU is matching ‘stakes’ up to $100 to boost the impact.

In fact, this is one of JuJu’s first major NIL moves. “This is a chance to bring the fans in and really build something special here in Colorado,” he said. “I’m all about winning, and with Fanstake, we can tap into the electric energy here in Boulder and give everyone a way to help us build a championship team,” the QB stated.

In the present situation, Julian Lewis has an extra responsibility in addition to spearheading the Buffs’ future NIL opportunities. A number of Colorado supporters took notice when he made a daring social media pledge to his predecessor.

Is Julian Lewis the ‘new leader’ the Buffs need?

When the 17 YO QB makes his Buffs debut soon, he will have huge shoes to fill. After enjoying success in the early 1990s, the Buffs program fell out of favor with top college football recruits. Now, it’s striving to re-establish itself as a national powerhouse that attracts talented players from across the country who are eager to collaborate.

Following Shedeur Sanders’ final college game, Lewis made that promise. Julian Lewis remarked on his X post, “You left huge shoes to fill, but I promise to work to level @CUBuffsFootballl even better than I found it. Forever grateful. #TrustGod, #TrustTheProcess.” It simply indicates the love Lewis holds for the entire program.

However, Lewis’s chances of starting for Coach Prime right away in the 2025 campaign are uncertain. Now Liberty transfer QB Kaidon Salter is considered a possible successor for the QB1 role.

Well, Julian Lewis is a proven ‘leader.’ No doubt about it. He’s thrown for over 10,000 yards with a 69.1% completion rate in 43 games. Leading his Carrollton Trojans to a 14-1 season? Cherry on top. He’s definitely a key part of Deion Sanders’ vision for Colorado. But after leaving USC, he’s still got a long way to go before he truly proves himself as a ‘freshman QB’ at the college level.