In 2025, Colorado quickly found out football without Shedeur Sanders isn’t easy.

After two of the best seasons in program history for a quarterback, the Buffaloes last fall took a major step back in production at the position.

Liberty transfer Kaidon Salter was brought in to help bridge the gap to the Julian “JuJu” Lewis era, but the veteran wasn’t up to the task. Salter ranked 14th out of 16 qualified Big 12 quarterbacks in passing yards per game and 13th in touchdowns with 10 to his seven interceptions.

It was easy to read between the lines when Deion Sanders said the Buffs “missed” on several key transfer portal additions last offseason and see that Salter was one of them. 

Pat Shurmur being underwhelming in his role as offensive coordinator didn’t help, either, but he has since been replaced by “Go-Go” offense creator Brennan Marion, who gave up his spot as the head coach at Sacramento State to reignite the CU offense.

Here’s the room Marion has to work with heading into the summer:

The presumed starter

While it wasn’t supposed to start until 2026, the Lewis era actually began last November.

The Buffs finally pulled the plug on Salter as the starter during a Week 10 home loss to Arizona, when Lewis threw for 121 yards and a touchdown in relief before starting at West Virginia and at home versus Arizona State. 

The freshman, who didn’t turn 18 until late September of last year, finished with 589 passing yards and four touchdowns to zero interceptions across his four appearances. He didn’t play in the season finale at Kansas State in order to preserve his redshirt, so he technically still has four years of eligibility left.

All eyes will be on Lewis this season as he heads into what would’ve been his first year in college had he not reclassified and graduated high school ahead of schedule.

The 18-year-old had multiple months to learn Marion’s system in the spring and has quickly become the face of the roster after he was the only player to return from the program’s young core that developed last season.

How Lewis plays could define not just the 2026 season in Boulder but also what Coach Prime’s future looks like, too.

The newcomer

CU couldn’t just bring back Lewis this offseason and hope for the best, though.

The Buffs knew they had to bring in competition after Salter graduated and Ryan Staub, who spent three years in the program and had a chance to secure the starting job last season but couldn’t, transferred to Tennessee.

In came Isaac Wilson, who arrived after two seasons at Utah where he started seven games as a true freshman, including at CU in 2024. 

The younger brother of former No. 2 NFL draft pick Zach Wilson, once a reserve for the Denver Broncos, Isaac fell down the depth chart with the Utes as New Mexico transfer Devon Dampier took over as the starter. 

Reports out of spring ball in Boulder suggest Wilson caught on quickly in the “GoGo” system and was able to make plays right away, despite completing only 6-of-12 passes for 65 yards with one interception in the April 11 spring game.

A solid first impression likely won’t be enough to win Wilson the starting job, but he will provide value this fall as a backup with real playing experience, should Lewis get injured or struggle to find success.

The freshman

Walk-on quarterback Dominiq Ponder died in a car crash in March. The Buffs have just one other quarterback on the roster heading into the 2026 season. 

Freshman Kaneal Sweetwyne also received positive reviews from coaches and teammates in the spring after enrolling at CU in January. The former three-star recruit out of Lehi, Utah, was previously committed to BYU. But he signed with N.C. State in December before being released from his letter of intent a few weeks later.

He completed all three of his passes for 25 yards in limited action in the spring game.