"That's the 3 I wanna see" - Fans debate over Coach Prime's next QB pick as Colorado looks for Shedeur Sanders' replacement

Colorado coach Deion Sanders aka Coach Prime has a huge decision to make ahead of the 2025 college football season. With his son, Shedeur Sanders departing for the NFL via the draft, the Buffs coach will have to find a new quarterback for the first time in his coaching career.

The three quarterbacks in contention to be Prime's QB1 include Liberty Flames transfer Kaidon Salter, highly-rated prospect Julian Lewis who flipped his commitment from the USC Trojans in December and Ryan Staub who backed up Sanders the past two seasons.

Colorado fans on X had mixed reactions to the QB options that will be available to Coach Prime next season training together.

Some fans were optimistic about the Buffs' 2025 QB options.

"That’s the 3 I wanna see. In that exact order," one fan tweeted.

"Salter #1. With colorado spotlight, if he play like 2023 or better...Heisman hopeful," another fan tweeted.

"God’s Blessings," one fan tweeted.

Kaidon Salter tabbed to be Coach Prime's QB1 pick

With spring training just starting in earnest, some programs have a settled hierarchy in their quarterback rooms but Coach Prime has to contend with the huge task of picking Shedeur Sanders' successor.

During Thursday's segment of "Always College Football," ESPN analyst Greg McElroy tabbed Kaidon Salter to win the QB1 battle over Julian Lewis.

"There should be a pretty interesting quarterback competition to be had between one of those four-star players in JuJu Lewis and Kaidon Salter who comes over after starting 35 games for the Liberty Flames," McElroy said (27:40).

"Now, Salter, I think he's probably gonna be the guy. He's got a lot of mobility. He's been in the fire, he's played a lot of football at college level so I don't think you go out and get a three-year starter if you don't expect him to be the guy."

McElroy predicted that Kaidon Salter, who has three years of experience would be the veteran presence chosen by Coach Prime to allow Julian Lewis to acclimatize to college football before he takes on the job in 2026.

Last season, Shedeur Sanders was one of the most prolific passers in college football, tallying 4,134 passing yards resulting in 37 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while adding -50 rushing yards resulting in four touchdowns.

Salter is a dual-threat quarterback who registered 1,886 passing yards resulting in 15 touchdowns and six interceptions while adding 587 rushing yards resulting in seven touchdowns.