“He’s been held accountable”: Deion Sanders gets 100% real on Julian Lewis’ progress as Shedeur Sanders’ successor

Modified Apr 20, 2025 18:39 GMT

NCAA Football: Colorado Spring Game - Source: Imagn — Deion Sanders gets real on Julian Lewis’ progress as Shedeur Sanders’ successor. (Credits: IMAGN)

Securing 5-star quarterback Julian Lewis's commitment after flipping from USC Trojans was one of the biggest reliefs that Deion Sanders offered the fans when they worried about the program after Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter's exit.

The Buffaloes played their first spring game without the projected first-round draft picks, allowing fans to see some standout players, including Micah Welch, Colton Hood, Preston Hodge, Amari McNeill and Julian Lewis.

JuJu successfully showcased his potential during Colorado's annual Black and Gold day, held on Saturday.

The Colorado freshman secured 16 of 19 passes attempted on the field, along with recording 234 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for one touchdown.

During the post spring game press conference, Deion Sanders weighed in on Julian Lewis's preparedness and progress:

"He's been doing that thing that's been doing that practice. It's not, I think you guys just have been running with one running back and forth, so it gives him an understanding."

"You better say he's still a young man. We don't care about the age of stage, though, but he's been helped out for the year. Started we expect you to perform as a starter right now. When you were the ones, you got to be a one. We got time to see we want him to execute and understand coverages and make his reason. And he's been doing a great job thus far." (3:10)

Deion Sanders weighs in on the quarterback competition at Colorado

After an impressive 9-4 season in 2024, the Colorado fans will now look at both Julian Lewis and Kaidon Salter to take the QB1 spot in 2025.

Both Salter and Lewis have tremendous athleticism and arm strength. However, Coach Prime made it clear that both of them have areas to improve in and shared his plan to maximize their potential.

“(01:00). “They got a ways to go. They gotta improve. They gotta do some things. You guys are so used to two that you gotta understand that these guys are different. They have different strengths and different qualities about themselves, and we got to make sure we maximize their potential."

Despite Julian being a 5-star QB, Salter is projected to be the QB1 due to his experience and brings lessons from Tennessee and Liberty.

About the author

Prasen is an NFL/College Sports analyst at Sportskeeda. A B.Tech/Civil Engineering graduate, he has two years of experience writing content.

For Prasen, providing historical angles relevant to the story is important, as it can give the reader useful information and help them relate it to the present. He thinks this keeps the content unique rather than just a bland reporting of facts. Prasen believes in fact-checking and researching relevant information as per the headline and context. He hates clickbait or misleading the reader.

A fan of the Colorado Buffaloes since Deion Sanders took over as coach, Prasen expects Coach Prime to make the Buffs a national championship contender. Nick Saban is his favorite all-time coach, while Baker Mayfield and Caitlin Clark are his favorite players. Prasen considers Vince Young coming up clutch for the Texas Longhorns in the dying seconds of the 2017 national championship game against the USC Trojans as the most iconic moment of all time.

Per Prasen, College Sports is competitive and garners attention but it is just the beginning, where a student-athlete can show their skills and potential to make it to the big leagues. When he is not researching and writing, Prasen’s hobbies include pursuing higher studies and playing sports.

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Edited by William Paul