Although you can prefer to ignore it, you have to acknowledge one thing. Tampering can be a loosely thrown-around umbrella term. However, trying to cut corners on the recruitment front is pretty prevalent across the CFB landscape. It’s so prevalent that it has almost become the norm. Even those who abuse any sport of malpractice lament it. But they can’t cease their actions, in order to stay competitive. The cut-throat nature of the sport facilitates those involved to try and find loopholes. Deion Sanders has found himself in a storm arising from parallels to this exact reality. It goes back to the recruitment of 5-star QB Julian Lewis.

JuJu Lewis’ path to Boulder was far from linear. For the longest time, it seemed like he was destined to link with quarterback whisperer Lincoln Riley at USC. A carousel of 5 stars ensued, as it tends to do approaching National Signing Day, and Lewis eventually ended up in Colorado. As quickly and last minute as all this transpired, Deion Sanders was obviously privy to it before the masses. The problem is he let his excitement get the better of him. Deion made a lapse of judgement and is now being duly reprimanded for it.

USA Today has reported that Deion Sanders has been charged with a “minor NCAA violation”. It’s basically caused by him alluding to JuJu and explicitly taking his name in the context of the Buffaloes before the stipulations allowed it. As superficial as it comes across, coaches aren’t permissible to publicly comment on their high school recruits before they officially sign. It’s an understandable bit of legislature, albeit very out of touch with the reality of what’s going on across the sport. But Alas, Deion Sanders will have to deal with this.

The incident occurred during a live stream on Deion’s weekly coaches show, which has since been deleted by the school. CU has stated that they’re taking “corrective measures”. They also agreed to “implement new institutional controls on the football weekly coaches show,”  This went down during the window between Julian Lewis committing to Colorado but not signing. This does make Deion getting ahead of himself fathomable.  If you want context for how big a deal this is, Colorado self-reported the ordeal. So, does JuJu Lewis have trouble coming his way?

Not for these events, no. However, there’s a separate issue brewing. One that he’s smack-bang at the epicentre of. Shedeur Sanders’ watch over the proverbial QB throne in Boulder has ceased. However, the off-shoots from his successful stint carried forward. Shedeur’s success in Deion’s system was perhaps a key facet that instigated Julian Lewis to join the ranks in the first place. JuJu’s path to carrying on Shedeur’s lineage 2025 onwards is not straightforward though.

Insider thinks Julian Lewis will have to wait his turn before unleashing his 5-star talent

Coach Prime dipped his feet into the transfer portal, something that’s been his modus operandi at Colorado. He acquired quarterback Kaidon Salter from Liberty. Salter may not be a household name amidst Power 4 circles, but he’s a star in his own right. He’s even got hardware to show for it. Now stepping into his redshirt senior year, Kaidon is a Conference USA Champion with the Liberty Flames in 2023. He threw a program-record 32 touchdown passes that season. That is only one facet of this true dual-threat QB. Kaidon has garnered over 2000 yards rushing across 3 seasons, with 21 rushing TDs. He’s unequivocally a QB1-caliber player. QB controversy in Boulder? One Colorado insider discerned who’ll end up atop the depth chart.

Over on the “Prime Time For College Football” YouTube channel, the host made a rational claim. However, JuJu perhaps wouldn’t want to hear that. “Me, personally, I see Kaidon winning the quarterback battle initially against Julian Lewis,” he said. Throwing a true freshman straight into the deep end isn’t particularly wise. As talented as JuJu Lewis is, a year deputising veteran Salter will serve him well. This is an especially shrewd move by Deion, owing to the similarity of playstyles between the two. Colorado will not have much trouble transitioning from Salter to Lewis when the time comes.

On face value, these are two things that can be construed negatively from a Julian Lewis POV. However, scratching the conspicuous surface is not too bad. The reprimand for Deion Sanders’ violation isn’t too harsh, and neither is redshirting as a freshman. But it’s not set in stone anyway. JuJu can still come out of pre-season as QB1. With Coach Prime at the helm, nothing is outside the realm of possibilities.