Deion Sanders’ Julian Lewis chase is one that college football fans will going to remember for a long time. After all, who names a famous burger joint’s burger after a hot recruit to woo him? Crazy! But turns out, someone else encroached on Lewis’s Colorado red carpet. And it’s none other than Liberty Flames transfer quarterback Kaidon Salter, who is eyeing the QB1 spot at the Buffaloes. And while Lewis was ready to go to any lengths to fill Shedeur’s shoes, Salter gives him a tough competition. Remember what his vow to Deion was? “It’s time for me to come in.” However, Salter gets a wake-up call on how he can’t afford to take things easy. After all, he will be carrying the burden of Deion’s ‘garbage’ run scheme.

The 2025 season will see Deion in his new avatar. For the first time, Coach Prime won’t have his kids, Shedeur and Shilo, around to coach them. Walking into 2025, the Buffs are likely to choose experience as the deciding factor for Shedeur’s predecessor. In that case, Salter already has the edge, who played 35 games across four seasons with the Liberty Flames. On the other hand, Lewis is yet to get his break in college. So, if Salter gets the starting role, one can guess Deion is going to have his full focus on him. While Salter’s 2024 season fell short of matching his Conference USA Most Valuable Player-winning 2023 campaign, he appears ready to compete against the Big 12’s best. Then what makes the pressure mount up for Salter in Boulder?

CFB analyst RJ Young addressed the elephant in the room. When it comes to Salter’s talents, he has the potential. But Deion’s program’s run game history will make Salter’s transition path slippery. RJ Young stated, “If you’re looking for an athletic quarterback who’s got a great college skill set, it’s Kaidon Salter. He can run, and he can pass, it’s going to give you more mobility in the backfield. We don’t know how good or bad that offensive line’s going to be, but we expect it to continue to take steps forward. I think the thing that we’re really going to be focusing on with Colorado this year is just how good the run game can be.”

“Kaidon Salter is going to help this, but there’s no getting around this, the run game at Colorado has been garbage since Prime arrived. It’s been non-existent,” said Young. Out of the big misses of Deion’s and Co.’s 2024 adventures, the most trouble loomed in the running game. Even though Deion made it a priority to overhaul his offensive line, after Shedeur got crowned as the most sacked player in 2024, collecting 56 sacks, the Buffs still gave up 43 sacks, the most in the Big 12. Then came the Nebraska game that opened the eyes. The Buffs had only four designed runs in the first half and threw the ball on their first six offensive plays before Charlie Offerdahl was stopped on a fourth-and-short. Well, these numbers are enough to make Salter panic. But Young poured in some more fearful analysis.

Just a little bit of Shedeur Sanders recap. “Shedeur Sanders gets a bad rep because the offense did not function. If he did not throw the football, which means he’s probably gonna hold the ball too long, which means he’s probably gonna take more sacks than he should. But when you’re the only way that you’re moving the football, you got to take what you can get. And a lot of this was distributing the ball to Will Sheppard, to Travis Hunter, to Jimmy Horn. Those guys are gone, right? Those are the two big holes – the quarterback and the wide receiver.” Amidst all the pressure, Deion is making the QB1 seat ready for Salter. 

Who has the edge in the Julian Lewis vs Kaidon Salter debate?

As the 2025 chapter is yet to pull up the curtains, Pro Football Focus ranked the top returning quarterback in the Big 12. No doubt, Salter made it into the list. While Salter’s ability in the air wasn’t entirely on display last season, as he threw for just 15 touchdowns, 1,886 yards, and six interceptions. This kind of scrambling ability will add a perfect seasoning to Colorado’s otherwise bland offense. Still, doubts are looming on who is going to fill the QB1 spot between Salter and Lewis? Buffs insider Kevin Borba got that covered. 

On the Locked on Buffs podcast, he had given a disclaimer. “Now, I think a lot of people are going to disagree with this overall take.” What was the take Borba shared? “In the spring game, I thought the offense moved better with Kaidon. All I thought Julian Lewis, although he had, he has a great arm, maybe one of the probably having the best arm in college football when it’s all said and done, I just think the offense moved better with Kaidon Salter. I like that he could use his legs.” Right now in Boulder, nobody, mind you, NOBODY has better legs than Salter.

Yes, recently, Julian Lewis went viral by hitting the gym hard. Deion Sanders’ favorite JuJu was spotted deadlifting 375 lbs on Memorial Day and hitting extra workouts. Now, we know that grind did not guarantee the QB1 spot. As freshman quarterbacks, starting day one is a rare scenario. Has Trevor Lawrence done it? No. Bryce Young? No. But Kevind Borba said, “Kaidon Salter is going to start, that’s my prediction. I’m certainly confident in that. And he’s going to start, and I think he’s going to do quite well.” Glory comes at a cost—Salter’s rise to QB1 means he must tackle the hidden weight that comes with the throne.