Oct 19, 2024; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Colorado Buffaloes offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur against the Arizona Wildcats at Arizona Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Four practices into fall camp, it’s still unclear who the Colorado Buffaloes’ starting quarterback will be to begin the 2025 season.
Liberty Flames transfer Kaidon Salter is largely considered the frontrunner due to his college experience, but 17-year-old freshman Julian “JuJu” Lewis is making plays at practice, and returner Ryan Staub remains a consistent force in the room. With the Buffs’ season opener against Georgia Tech exactly four weeks away, offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur and coach Deion Sanders have a tough decision to make at the most important position in football.
Shurmur spoke with the media following practice on Friday and opened up on his approach to Colorado’s quarterback room.
“I call it quarterback development,” Shurmur said. “I think we’ll develop a plan for who plays and when once we get to the game. But right now, as we go through the installations, we demand that they all learn everything that we’re doing. I see good progress each day. The way this thing works is especially in the first eight days, you have really eight installations.
“As you can imagine, in the meeting room setting or the academic setting, you teach them something, they go out and practice it. Then the next day, we teach them something new, and then they got to go back and review because now the two installs apply to that practice, and then three and so on. So it’s a process.”
Based on Shurmur’s first fall camp update, the Buffs likely won’t decide on a starting quarterback until late in fall camp, giving Lewis, Salter and Staub considerable time to show command of Colorado’s offensive playbook.
Shurmur added that while Lewis and Salter are both intelligent football players, the latter has a distinct advantage when it comes to experience. Salter developed into an elite dual-threat Group of Five quarterback at Liberty, throwing for 5,887 yards and rushing for 2,063 in four seasons with the Flames.
“They’re both very, very smart guys,” Shurmur said. “JuJu, obviously, is much younger, so this process is a little bit foreign to him. But Kaidon has got a lot of experience, and he’s used to it. I think they’re both doing extremely well.”
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“Let’s not sleep on Ryan,” Shurmur said. “If you get to know Ryan, he’ll quickly become one of your favorite people… He’s got a great vibe and a great personality. Given the opportunity to play, I think he’s going to play well. I don’t really worry about where he’s stacked. I’m just super thrilled he’s in our room.”
In a follow-up, Shurmur confirmed that he trusts all three of his top quarterbacks to perform on Saturdays.
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