Colorado Football OC Pat Shurmur Drops Unexpected Truth About QB Battle

Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes are gearing up for the 2025 college football season with a mix of excitement and a hefty dose of uncertainty. Losing star players, including Deion’s own son, Shedeur Sanders, to the NFL Draft has left some pretty big voids to fill — and the quarterback spot is at the heart of it. The battle now boils down to former Liberty transfer Kaidon Salter and promising freshman Julian Lewis, both vying to be the man calling the shots. Pat Shurmur, Colorado’s offensive coordinator, didn’t sugarcoat it: both could be the team’s best player, but only one can start. Deion’s laid-back yet win-focused approach adds another twist — “Long as they’re doing their jobs and we’re winning,” he said. But here’s the real question — can Colorado keep improving, or will the departures prove too daunting to overcome? Either way, this QB contest is just the start of what promises to be a fascinating chapter under Coach Prime’s watch. LEARN MORE

Head coach Deion Sanders and the Colorado football program are currently gearing up for the upcoming 2025 college football season, where they will hope to build on their success from a season ago. That task will be made much more difficult due to the talent the Buffaloes lost to the NFL Draft this offseason, including their starting quarterback and Deion’s son, Shedeur Sanders.

As of now, the quarterback battle for the Buffaloes seems to be between former Liberty quarterback Kaidon Salter, who joined Colorado via the transfer portal this offseason, and freshman four-star quarterback Julian Lewis.

Recently, Colorado football offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur got 100% real on the battle for the starting quarterback job.

“We as coaches owe it to our fans, our team and everybody out there to play the very best players,” Shurmur said, per Daniel Hager of On3 Sports, per BuffsTV on YouTube.. “In reality, in terms of the quarterback, both guys could be our very best players. So then, we’ll have to work something out. In the meantime, we just keep working with them and those decisions will be made behind the scenes. Coach [Deion Sanders] will have to deal with all of that.”

Sanders also spoke on the quarterback battle during a recent appearance at Big 12 Media Day.

“We brought both of them because I don’t know which one is going to start,” Sanders said. “Yeah. Long as they’re doing their jobs and we’re winning.”

Can Colorado continue to progress?

Colorado head coach Deion Sanders speaks with the media during 2025 Big 12 Football Media Days at The Star. — Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

While the 2023 season was full of unfulfilled hype for the Colorado football program, the Buffaloes made some real strides in the win column a season ago, erasing any doubts about whether Deion Sanders was an elite coach at the college football level.

Now, he’ll face his greatest challenge yet in replacing the considerable talent that departed this offseason, including both his son Shedeur as well as star cornerback/wide receiver hybrid Travis Hunter, who won the Heisman Trophy and was selected second overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Whoever ends up getting the starting quarterback job for Colorado, they’ll have some big shoes to fill when they do.

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