Who Is Ryan Staub? Meet Colorado QB Who Backed Up Shedeur Sanders Before Coach Prime Gave Him a Shot

Colorado is set to start redshirt sophomore quarterback Ryan Staub against Houston on Friday, elevating him over Kaidon Salter and Julian Lewis after Staub’s Week 2 spark off the bench, per reports. The Californian went 7-of-10 for 157 yards and two touchdowns to ignite a win over Delaware, a performance that reshaped the depth chart just two weeks after Salter opened as QB1 and Lewis entered the season in the competition. His elevation follows Colorado’s public naming of Salter as the initial starter in late August, a move that now pivots to the hot hand as the Buffaloes head into their Big 12 opener at Houston.

Who is Ryan Staub?

A 6-foot-1, 200-pound passer from Stevenson Ranch, California (West Ranch HS), Staub arrived as a three-star recruit and progressed steadily in Boulder, earning his first career start in 2023 at Utah, where he went 17-of-24 for 195 yards with a touchdown to Travis Hunter (70.8% completions). He saw limited game action in 2024 (four appearances, 0-for-4 passing) while backing up Shedeur Sanders, then caught fire in Week 2 of 2025 by entering as Colorado’s No. 3 quarterback and going 7-of-10 for 157 yards and two touchdowns to spark a win over Delaware. It is that breakout that vaulted him into Friday’s start. His high school resume featured a senior year with 3,008 passing yards and 37 touchdowns against five interceptions, plus 363 rushing yards and four scores, signaling the arm talent and movement skills Colorado tapped into last week.

Why is he starting now?

Colorado initially named Liberty transfer Kaidon Salter the starter for the opener against Georgia Tech, with Coach Prime also eyeing true freshman Julian Lewis for reps, underscoring a deep and competitive room to begin the season. After the offense stalled, Staub’s Delaware cameo changed the calculus, and by Monday, he was working with the first team in practice as the staff moved to make him the Week 3 starter at Houston. “I know exactly how I’m going to handle the quarterback situation. I’m not going to say it, but yeah. I’m not lost for direction … [Staub] has just been waiting for his opportunity. Never jumped in the portal, he had every right to think that way. But he’s just been a great human being and a great young man, like a leader amongst that room. All he needed was the opportunity, and I thought it was time. I’m not lost for direction,” Deion Sanders said postgame. This monologue has captured his willingness to pivot quickly when performance demands it, especially with a blue-chip freshman like Lewis and a seasoned transfer like Salter still in the mix. 

With the Big 12 opener on Friday at Houston, Staub brings recent rhythm throws, pocket poise, and comfort in quick-game concepts that showed up both in his 2023 start at Utah and in last week’s explosive 157-yard, two-touchdown line on just 10 attempts. The report that he’ll start over Salter and Lewis frames the week’s storyline, but his job security will track production, given Salter’s veteran presence and Lewis’ elite pedigree. If Staub sustains the efficiency and vertical timing he flashed against Delaware, Colorado’s offense gains a steady hand for a tough road test. If not, the depth that defined August will remain an active card for Coach Prime in Houston.