Deion Sanders has decided on a starting quarterback for the next game but has not publicly announced his choice.
The Colorado Buffaloes are 1-2 after a recent 36-20 loss to Houston, with Sanders seeking more consistency from his team.
Quarterback Ryan Staub started against Houston after a strong performance against Delaware, but struggled in the loss.
Colorado football coach Deion Sanders said he “most definitely” has decided who his starting quarterback will be in his team’s next game Saturday against Wyoming but didn’t say which one it would be after the situation again got muddled in a 36-20 loss at Houston last week.
Sanders said there was “no excuse” for what happened against Houston and said he’s simply trying to find “leadership and consistency” from the most important position on the field. His team is 1-2 and has played two different starting quarterbacks so far in his attempt to replace his son Shedeur, now with the Cleveland Browns.
“I don’t think we’re in a car just running aimlessly the wrong way,” Sanders said at a news conference Tuesday, Sept. 16. “I don’t feel that way. I feel like we could be better, and we are better. We just had a hiccup there and a hiccup there that has disarmed us in its totality. And it’s no excuse for what transpired last week. No excuse for that.”
He said he “changed up’ the team’s practice structure ‘a little bit’ this week, not including a visit from hip hop artist Ice Cube, who addressed the team.
“Don’t complain about what you didn’t get because of the work you didn’t put in,” Ice Cube told the team, as posted on Sanders’ Instagram account. “Put in the work, and it’ll pay off.”
What is going on with Deion Sanders’ quarterbacks?
His quarterback situation became muddled after Sanders decided to give each of his top three quarterbacks two series apiece to start a 31-7 win against Delaware Sept. 6. He said his goal was that one of them would separate from the pack.
One of them did. Third-string quarterback Ryan Staub took over with 45 second before halftime and his team leading 10-7. By the time he left in the second half, Colorado led 31-7 after two touchdown passes from Staub of 21 and 71 yards.
Staub then started the next game at Houston Sept. 12 but struggled at times in the loss. After the game, Sanders said Staub didn’t play well but he had “no idea” about the quarterback situation for the Saturday’s game against Wyoming.
He basically has two choices: Stick with Staub, whose performance also could be blamed on dropped passes by receivers and lackluster blocking.
Or go back to Kaidon Salter, the Liberty transfer who started the first two games, including the season-opening 27-20 loss to Georgia Tech. Salter hasn’t gotten much of a chance beyond that. He started the Delaware game and helped his team to a 10-0 lead on his only two series before halftime but then found himself benched in favor of Staub, a redshirt sophomore.
The other quarterback is celebrated freshman Julian “JuJu” Lewis, who’s only played three series this season – all against Delaware – and didn’t distinguish himself.
‘We’re gonna get it together,’ Sanders said Tuesday. ‘I think we have the young men, I don’t think, I know, we have the young men inside that locker room and the coaching staff to get it together.’
Rushing defense an issue for Deion Sanders
Colorado ranks 123th out of 134 major college teams in rushing defense, having given up 204.3 yards per game. Sanders reiterated he wants “consistency” from his team but questioned the notion that his team is seeking an “identity,” or something that it is known for doing successfully.
“I don’t care what kind of car we pull up in, as long as we pull out of here with a W,” Sanders said. “I’m good, so I don’t really get into the identity thing, none whatsoever. I would like to do some things better. We’d like to stop the run. We’d like to run the ball. We’d like to be consistent offensively and defensively. We’d love to do those things better, but I can’t be narrowed down with, ‘What’s your identity?’ What does that mean?”
Sanders started 3-0 in his first season at Colorado in 2023 and was 2-1 after three games in 2024. This is his first season at Colorado without Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter, the 2024 Heisman Trophy winner. Both moved on to the NFL, leaving an apparent void so far in Boulder.
“It’s still early on in the season,” Colorado cornerback DJ McKinney said. “We got a lot of kinks to work, but it’s a long season, you know? It’s gonna be bumps in the road. We can’t get too high on the highs. We can’t get too low on the lows. We gotta stay constant.”
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com