Copyright Heavy.
In the midst of the worst two game stretch of his coaching career, Colorado Buffaloes Head Coach Deion Sanders has elected to turn his quarterbacking duties over to true freshman Julian “Ju Ju” Lewis for what appears to be the final three games of their season. The Buffs were blasted for the second week in a row on Saturday night, losing 52-17 to Big 12 foe Arizona at Folsom Field. Colorado (3-6, 1-5 in the Big 12) has lost its past two games by the combined score of 105-24. Not only are they out of the conference title picture, but getting bowl eligible now will require them to win their final three games, two of which are on the road. The ways things are going, that appears highly unlikely. Deion Sanders Looking to the Future Faced with the prospect of no postseason to plan for, Sanders instead is getting a jump on next season. He elected to pull the redshirt off his highly touted backup midway through the third quarter. Unless he doesn’t play Lewis – a five-star freshman recruit out of Carollton, Georgia – in one of the final three games, Sanders will be burning a full season of eligibility for the young QB. Lewis had already appeared in a game against Delaware earlier this season, and if he plays in more than four games total, the redshirt option disappears. After the game, Sanders didn’t appear to care about saving a season of eligibility for Lewis. “I’m more protective as a father spirit, as an athlete spirit, as a guy who knows this game,” Sanders told the media after the game. “I got to protect him. I can’t throw him out there and he’s not fully ready, and now you jump all over him, and now we in a mental health situation. I don’t want that for none of these young men, so we try our best to prepare them and get them ready for the ups and downs of life.” Lewis, who skipped his senior year of high school to enroll early at Colorado, is listed at 6’1”, 190 but doesn’t look it. His physical development has been a concern, but Sanders said it was “common sense” to put him into the game when he did. Freshman QB Provided a Spark Lewis did provide a mild spark for the Buffs offense during the elongated garbage time period against the Wildcats. Trailing 45-7 halfway through the third quarter, he scrambled for 15 yards before hitting Omarion Miller for a 59-yard catch and run touchdown. Colorado also drove for a late field goal in the blowout loss. Lewis passed for 121 yards in mop up duty. No announcement has been made about the starter under center for Colorado’s next game Saturday at West Virginia. But it will be a shock if the third year head coach turns back to either senior transfer Kaidon Salter or sophomore Ryan Staub at this point. Hindered by mistakes and a glut of penalties happening around them, both have been ineffective the past two weeks. All signs point to Colorado handing the keys to their future signal caller with nothing to lose and a little ahead of schedule.
