Colorado's QB situation is a mess no matter what Deion Sanders says

Just two weeks into life without Shedeur Sanders, the Colorado Buffaloes find themselves mired in a mess of a quarterback situation. All offseason, whether coach Deion Sanders wanted to publicly name him the starter or not, it felt like Liberty transfer Kaidon Salter would be the heir apparent to Shedeur. He'd put up some gaudy numbers with the Flames, his physical tools were drool-worthy and, most importantly, he was Deion's handpicked guy out of the portal. Five-star high school recruit Julian Lewis was the future, but Salter sure looked like the present.

Unfortunately for the Buffs, that present may have been pretty short-lived. Salter struggled mightily in the team's season-opening loss to Georgia Tech, prompting Sanders to give backup Ryan Staub a look late in the first half against Delaware in Week 2. Staub took that opportunity and ran with it, completing 7-of-10 passing for 157 yards and two scores in a 31-7 victory — and now, according to ESPN's Pete Thamel, that performance has earned him the starting job for good.

For what it's worth, Sanders downplayed Thamel's report, remaining noncommittal about who his QB1 would be moving forward. But it's not hard to read between the lines here: Salter wasn't getting the job done, and things sure looked a lot more functional last Saturday with Staub at the helm.

No matter who takes the first snap against Houston this weekend, though, it's hard to feel great about the entire process here. Sanders, for his part, insists that he's got it under control: He was all confidence after Saturday's game, acting as though everything was proceeding according to his master plan.

“I know exactly how I’m going to handle the quarterback situation,” Sanders said. “I’m not going to say it, but yeah. I’m not lost for direction … “[Staub] has just been waiting for his opportunity. Never jumped in the portal, he had every right to think that way ... All he needed was the opportunity, and I thought it was time.”

Of course, the unspoken truth here is that Sanders was the one responsible for giving Staub an opportunity all along. The fact that he didn't until Salter forced his hand speaks volumes, both about Deion's own talent evaluation and the state of Colorado's program moving forward.

Colorado's QB situation is a red flag that Deion Sanders' spin can't erase

Staub committed to Colorado way back in January of 2022, a mid-3-star recruit out of California whose other FBS offers were from the likes of Arizona, SMU, Fresno State and Nevada. He backed up Sanders in both 2023 and 2024, getting significant run in a 23-17 loss to Utah as a freshman while throwing just four passes in garbage time last season.

If that doesn't exactly jump off the page to you, while, that's sort of the point. Sanders can pretend that he believed in Staub's potential all along if he wants, but the evidence suggests otherwise: The odds are stacked against Staub becoming a plus starter at the Power 4 level, and there's a reason why Sanders not only recruited the five-star Lewis out of high school but brought in a high-profile (and no doubt expensive) transfer out of the portal in Salter.

Sanders might claim that he's not lost for direction, but again: If Staub was the plan all along, why didn't we hear anything about him throughout the offseason? Why did Colorado make so many other plans at the quarterback position? It seems far more likely that Sanders assumed Salter would hit the ground running this year and then be off to the pros next spring, by which time Lewis would be ready to take over. But Salter wasn't the player he thought, and without wanting to throw Lewis in the fire before he's ready, Staub was the only other option.

There was no method to the madness here; Sanders didn't have Salter and Staub alternating possessions, and he didn't leave the competition open to start the season. Salter was supposed to be the guy, which certainly suggests that Staub wasn't on Sanders' radar until he absolutely needed to be. And the fact that he now represents their most competitive option is ... concerning, to say the least.

Again: He was a relatively anonymous recruit who no one thought much of until coming in off the bench and lighting it up against a Delaware program making its debut at the FBS level. Maybe he's the exception to the rule, but this is not the position that Colorado wanted to find itself in, especially not so early in the year. Salter's rawness as a passer hasn't gotten better, and the concerns about him moving up a level in competition appear to have been well-founded. Sanders can pass that off as all part of the plan all he wants, but from here it looks like the Buffs are scrambling, stuck with a defense that got gashed for a second straight week and an offense that now has to turn to plan C at quarterback.