Deion Sanders Names Colorado's Next Starting Quarterback After Shedeur Sanders

The Colorado Buffaloes will have a new starting quarterback this season.

For the first time, Deion Sanders will coach a Colorado team that is not quarterbacked by his son, Shedeur Sanders. Following Shedeur's departure for the NFL, Deion named Kaidon Salter the team's starting quarterback.

"Kaidon Salter is gonna start," Sanders told reporters on Tuesday. "The kid has a ton of experience, dual-threat, can throw the heck out of the ball as well. He's the guy."

Salter has been in a quarterback competition with freshman Julian Lewis, who was a five-star recruit and the No. 12 overall recruit in ESPN's 2025 recruiting rankings. Salter, the more experienced quarterback, has won the job after four years at Liberty.

Last season, Salter completed just 56.3% of his passes for 1,882 yards, 15 touchdowns and six interceptions. His best season though came in 2023, when he threw for 2,876 yards, 32 touchdowns and six interceptions while hitting on 61% of his passes. He led the Flames to a 13-1 record that year, and was named the Conference USA MVP. Salter now takes over a team that went 9-4 overall and 7-2 in the Big 12 last season.

Though Lewis will not be the starter, Sanders does hope for him to see time on the field. "We're praying and we're hoping that you see some JuJu periodically through the game as well," Sanders said. "We would like to get him some reps as well, but the game predicates that."

Salter will make his first start for the Buffaloes on Friday as they take on Georgia Tech.