Colorado football coach Deion Sanders has named Liberty transfer Kaidon Salter as the team’s starting quarterback for the season opener Friday Aug. 29 against Georgia Tech.
After Sanders’ quarterback son Shedeur moved on to the NFL, the question was not just who would replace him at Colorado but how.
The obvious choice was Salter, who is a dual threat signal caller and led Liberty to a 13-1 season in 2023. He has one season of college eligibility left.
“He’s the guy at this point,” Sanders said at a news conference Tuesday.
The other top choice was Julian “JuJu” Lewis, a heralded freshman from Carrollton, Georgia. He’s only 17 year old and has four years of college playing time ahead of him, but there’s also the risk he could transfer out of Colorado if he doesn’t see playing time.
Might both of them share time at the position in the same game?
Sanders said Lewis would “periodically get some reps as well” but that Salter’s “experience is vital.”
There was some mystery to the decision before Tuesday. Colorado offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur said Monday that Colorado coaches have discussed the quarterback situation “at great length behind the scenes.”
“We’ll just let it reveal itself, and if there are any announcements, that’s certainly something Coach Prime will handle.”
Shurmur also praised Salter.
“He’s obviously a tremendous athlete that if the situation presents itself, can do some good things with his legs,” he said. “So I’m looking forward to putting him out there to see what he can do.”
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Colorado’s Deion Sanders names Kaidon Salter starting quarterback
