The Colorado Buffaloes will be losing one of the top quarterbacks in the country this off-season. Shedeur Sanders is projected to be a top-10 pick in the upcoming NFL Draft after two years in Boulder, which will leave a hole at the position for a team that could be in for a season of transition. But there is help on the way, both in the form of a high school recruit as well as a transfer from the portal.
Colorado Has Top Recruit, As Well As A Top Transfer
Julian Lewis was thought to be the heir apparent to Sanders. The 5-star recruit was the second-rated prospect overall in ESPN’s Top 300 rankings of the class of 2025, and he joined Colorado after pulling his commitment to USC last month. It appeared that he would be the next star to play for the Buffaloes, but it looks like he’ll have some competition during training camp.
One of the most dynamic quarterbacks in college football entered the transfer portal earlier this month. Having played his first four years at Liberty, Kaidon Salter was looking for a new home for his final year of eligibility. After visiting with Syracuse, Salter chose Colorado, giving the Buffaloes options at the QB position.
BREAKING: Liberty transfer QB Kaidon Salter has signed with Colorado, per @PeteNakos_🦬https://t.co/U31NaOwnr0 pic.twitter.com/BHq6o7J8mm
— On3 (@On3sports) December 18, 2024
Salter had his true breakout season in 2023. On his way to leading Liberty to an undefeated regular season, he led Conference USA in passing touchdowns (32) and passer rating (176.6), and made perhaps an even bigger impact with his legs. He was able to post 1089 yards on the ground and add 12 touchdowns to his total, making him one of the top dual-threat passers in the country. And while his numbers dipped a bit in 2024, only one FBS quarterback had more rushing yards than Salter over the past two years.
Colorado will certainly be losing some elite talent to the NFL this coming off-season. Both Sanders and Travis Hunter are projected to be top-5 picks, after the latter was just recently named the winner of the Heisman Trophy. They helped the Buffaloes turn their program around over the last couple of seasons, taking one of the worst teams in all of college football and turning them into a top-25 team that will play in the Alamo Bowl against BYU on December 28th.
