What should be the plan at QB & who is the starter this week?

[Corey Trevorson]

You have a great point. I'd love to see Juju, but as I think about things more, Juju only spent 3 years in HS and is 17. At this juncture it depends both on what Juju wants and whether he is ready enough to protect himself and not get totally overwhelmed. The true-Frosh that play (aka..Underwood) are manchilds.

Also, much depends on how Juju and the staff agreed to develop him. If this year's goal was to have Juju get bigger/sculpt his body, adjust to college life/see P-4 football, work on P-4 game speed, and slowly improve his preparation/craft into the next level, then honor that, unless Juju says let's go. I'm inclined to give into two weeks with Salter/Staub getting past ISU/Utah, and look to end the season with Juju playing but not burning a RS. He may not play here for 4 years, but IMO still there is no sense in completely burning his RS given he is the future.

It just sucks that KS has not worked out/regressed, and Staub had the Houston debacle.

This baby sitting of Lewis is ridiculous - he played at an extremely high level of football in Georgia and was dominant. Whatever the goal was when he enrolled is irrelevant, anything related to that would have been designed under the assumption that Salter would provide quality QB play and win games.

Playing Salter (why in the flying **** is anyone talking about Staub) for x more weeks is useless, we're not winning games with him at QB. There are 5 true freshman QBs playing significant snaps at their school, they're all doing well.

 

[Corey Trevorson]

This is perfectly said. The expectations for someone leaving HS early is that they should/will RS. It's embarrassing that we've gotten ourselves in this situation without a run of injuries.

This team has proven that they can compete and easily be sitting 4-2, 5-1 with competent/average quarterback play. I personally don't think Juju is ready and not worth burning the RS at this point, but I think he could('ve) manufacture(d) some wins.

So your logic is to continue to lose games this year by running with Salter and for some reason hyping up the value of a RS in this era of CFB. If Lewis is legit he isn't here for the full 4/5 years, a RS isn't worth a damn.

 

[Buffnik]

Another factor is that if we turn leadership of the offense over to JuJu then he gets a bump on how much he can drive our recruiting the next couple years. Peer-to-peer recruiting is often the best recruiting.

 

[Burrito]

Inside JuJu Lewis' Recruiting Rankings - and the honest truth about what to expect if Lewis is CU's QB1 the rest of the season.

Inside Juju Lewis’ Recruiting Ranking — and the Honest Truth about What to Expect if He’s QB1 for the Rest of the Season - BuffsBlog.com

Setting the Record Straight on Lewis' Recruiting Ranking In many of my interactions with CU fans, I’m told that Lewis was a 5-star “can’t miss” recruit. This is incorrect. Lewis was not a 5-star QB coming out of high school. Was he considered he a high-level recruit? Definitely. But we need to...

buffsblog.com

This post has a twist that is very on-brand for CU football.

 

[manhattanbuff]

I think they give it one more shot with Salter at home against a beatable Iowa State team.

I think so too but, if he’s going to play timid, I would rather just us move on to next year.

 

[Creebuzz]

I have no idea where Juju is in terms of his development. Based on the fact that Prime rolled him out on a couple of series against Delaware suggests he wants to give him some live reps. I hate to dredge up old matters, but I would’ve kept Salter in through three quarters against Delaware, built a big lead (presumptive for sure), and then given Juju the entire fourth quarter. CU didn’t do that obviously.

At this stage, and despite my criticisms, I’d still roll with Salter as the starter, but I would also choose some opportune games down the line to get Juju some additional work, and maybe even give him a start, say beginning at home against Arizona, especially if CU drops both games to ISU and Utah. At that point, CU would be 2-6 and may as well start building toward next year.

 

[manhattanbuff]

This.

The only thing is to be sure you don't break the confidence of the freshman by asking too much too soon.

I think he will step up and surprise to the upside.

Edit to add: most rookie qbs get terrible habits because they have lines that can't pass block, and no running game. Both of those are somewhere between serviceable and quite good, so I think that risk is low.

Our pass blocking is elite (no really, we’re top 5 in the country). Our run game is above average.

 

[Bread]

Inside JuJu Lewis' Recruiting Rankings - and the honest truth about what to expect if Lewis is CU's QB1 the rest of the season.

Inside Juju Lewis’ Recruiting Ranking — and the Honest Truth about What to Expect if He’s QB1 for the Rest of the Season - BuffsBlog.com

Setting the Record Straight on Lewis' Recruiting Ranking In many of my interactions with CU fans, I’m told that Lewis was a 5-star “can’t miss” recruit. This is incorrect. Lewis was not a 5-star QB coming out of high school. Was he considered he a high-level recruit? Definitely. But we need to...

buffsblog.com

This post has a twist that is very on-brand for CU football.

"I say all of this to remind CU viewers that Lewis is not viewed as a Bryce Underwood level prospect. He’s not a 5-star can’t miss prospect. Instead, he’s a high-level prospect at a position that history shows us is extremely difficult to project future success."

This blatantly ignores that he was considered a Bryce Underwood level prospect until he reclassified. If he would have stayed in the 2026 class, he would have been the #1 or #2 QB.

Also basing potential performance off of something so uncorrelated like the previous players ranked at #6 is sillly.

And our O-line is elite in pass pro, not just good.

 

[PAHIBuff]

Inside JuJu Lewis' Recruiting Rankings - and the honest truth about what to expect if Lewis is CU's QB1 the rest of the season.

Inside Juju Lewis’ Recruiting Ranking — and the Honest Truth about What to Expect if He’s QB1 for the Rest of the Season - BuffsBlog.com

Setting the Record Straight on Lewis' Recruiting Ranking In many of my interactions with CU fans, I’m told that Lewis was a 5-star “can’t miss” recruit. This is incorrect. Lewis was not a 5-star QB coming out of high school. Was he considered he a high-level recruit? Definitely. But we need to...

buffsblog.com

This post has a twist that is very on-brand for CU football.

Interesting post, thanks. Good research. I hope that JuJu isn't a bust and I don't expect him to be, but if he is, Allbuffs will have an absolute world class diaper-filling meltdown of historic proportions.

 

[BuffsBlog.com]

"I say all of this to remind CU viewers that Lewis is not viewed as a Bryce Underwood level prospect. He’s not a 5-star can’t miss prospect. Instead, he’s a high-level prospect at a position that history shows us is extremely difficult to project future success."

This blatantly ignores that he was considered a Bryce Underwood level prospect until he reclassified. If he would have stayed in the 2026 class, he would have been the #1 or #2 QB.

Also basing potential performance off of something so uncorrelated like the previous players ranked at #6 is sillly.

And our O-line is elite in pass pro, not just good.

Disagree that if he stayed in the 2026 class he would have been the #1 or #2 QB.

Lewis was initially ranked #8 on the natinonal composite even after reclassifying. He fell in the recruiting rankings from #8 to #50 on the composite.

Similarly, he was initially ranked #14 on 247 even after reclassifying. He fall all the way to #126.

He fell not because of the reclassification. Rather, there were real questions about his physical stength and size.

Also, I agree (sort of) with the silliness of comparing him to other #6 ranked QBs. It is ironic, however, that Salter is probably his "best case" comp using that silly metric.

 

[Tatanka™]

Disagree that if he stayed in the 2026 class he would have been the #1 or #2 QB.

Lewis was initially ranked #8 on the natinonal composite even after reclassifying. He fell in the recruiting rankings from #8 to #50 on the composite.

Similarly, he was initially ranked #14 on 247 even after reclassifying. He fall all the way to #126.

He fell not because of the reclassification. Rather, there were real questions about his physical stength and size.

Also, I agree (sort of) with the silliness of comparing him to other #6 ranked QBs. It is ironic, however, that Salter is probably his "best case" comp using that silly metric.

Or he was dropped because he committed to CU and not an SEC or B1G team.

 

[Bread]

Disagree that if he stayed in the 2026 class he would have been the #1 or #2 QB.

Lewis was initially ranked #8 on the natinonal composite even after reclassifying. He fell in the recruiting rankings from #8 to #50 on the composite.

Similarly, he was initially ranked #14 on 247 even after reclassifying. He fall all the way to #126.

He fell not because of the reclassification. Rather, there were real questions about his physical stength and size.

Also, I agree (sort of) with the silliness of comparing him to other #6 ranked QBs. It is ironic, however, that Salter is probably his "best case" comp using that silly metric.

It's a game of what ifs but I would be willing to bet that if he had stayed committed to USC or some other blue blood, he would have been the #1/#2 QB when all was said and done. I would also bet that if he had committed to a blue blood after reclassifying he would have stayed a top 50 prospect.

Side note: I enjoy reading these blogs, not attacking them. Just pointing certain things out for discussion.

 

[BuffsBlog.com]

It's a game of what ifs but I would be willing to bet that if he had stayed committed to USC or some other blue blood, he would have been the #1/#2 QB when all was said and done. I would also bet that if he had committed to a blue blood after reclassifying he would have stayed a top 50 prospect.

Side note: I enjoy reading these blogs, not attacking them. Just pointing certain things out for discussion.

Thanks.

I've joked in the past about there being a CU tax on recruiting rankings. Lewis might be an example of that. But I still think there are concerns about whether / how his physical abilities can translate at this level. It's a lot harder comping Drew Brees-type players than it is to comp Vince Young-type players.

 

[Bread]

Thanks.

I've joked in the past about there being a CU tax on recruiting rankings. Lewis might be an example of that. But I still think there are concerns about whether / how his physical abilities can translate at this level. It's a lot harder comping Drew Brees-type players than it is to comp Vince Young-type players.

I'm curious which physical abilities you are referring to? His athleticism? Because his arm strength is definitely not in question. Dude can sling the pill.

 

[BuffsBlog.com]

I'm curious which physical abilities you are referring to? His athleticism? Because his arm strength is definitely not in question. Dude can sling the pill.

Size and strength, mainly.

Here a story posted by USC's 247 site that talks about his drop in recruiting rankings (citing "subpar measurables", concerns about height, and lack of "real canon": https://247sports.com/college/usc/a...-drops-in-updated-top247-rankings--233664717/

 

[GRM]

This baby sitting of Lewis is ridiculous - he played at an extremely high level of football in Georgia and was dominant. Whatever the goal was when he enrolled is irrelevant, anything related to that would have been designed under the assumption that Salter would provide quality QB play and win games.

Playing Salter (why in the flying **** is anyone talking about Staub) for x more weeks is useless, we're not winning games with him at QB. There are 5 true freshman QBs playing significant snaps at their school, they're all doing well.

I think you miss the point. CFB is a whole other level than High School. Of all the Frosh playing how many were reclassified? How many are not rather large players for their age? 6'3" makes a huge difference over 6'1" 195. Bear is the shortest at 6'2" but he is 225. The others are all taller than Bear and 225 or above... I think those guys are almost 19 or older. Plus, except for Bear, they were can't miss guys.

That does not mean Juju will not grow b/t this season to next season? I think he will with the nutrition and workouts, but why trot him out if there was an understanding that he would RS, grow and be Prime situated into next year. Do you wish for a Koy Detmer situation, who was a can't miss played in relief early but tore up his knee. Obviously, Koy was really good since he was was drafted and in the NFL for 10 years.

One has to consider Juju's long term options and progressions. It is not to get beat up or losing confidence by playing too young. The only reason you consider Staub playing is Salter being S*** bad, and Staub has played well in a few games, @Houston he did not. You just don't bring Juju in for mop-up or a tough away game (@UT), nor do you shorten/hurt his career by playing him too young and not quite physically developed. If there is an understanding, CU breaks that promise and it does not go well for Juju, he hits to portal.

 

[Ctrl+Z]

So your logic is to continue to lose games this year by running with Salter and for some reason hyping up the value of a RS in this era of CFB. If Lewis is legit he isn't here for the full 4/5 years, a RS isn't worth a damn.

No, my logic is that someone who is supposed to still be in HS shouldn't be getting called out of the bullpen unless they are actually ready. And no, I do not believe he gives us a better chance to win. If he did, we would've seen him in by now.

And FWIW, I am not high on Juju. I've been on the record of sharing the same concerns as the narrative above that's starting to form. Can he develop into a good even great player - absolutely - but I am cautiously optimistic. I don't think his hype was warranted based on his size/strength/etc., those 5-stars should be reserved for the "man-child" types.

Nonetheless, I hope I'm wrong, and hopefully this is seen as a lesson for this staff - that maybe your contingency plan shouldn't be a 12th-grader.

 

[The Alabaster Yak]

No, my logic is that someone who is supposed to still be in HS shouldn't be getting called out of the bullpen unless they are actually ready. And no, I do not believe he gives us a better chance to win. If he did, we would've seen him in by now.

And FWIW, I am not high on Juju. I've been on the record of sharing the same concerns as the narrative above that's starting to form. Can he develop into a good even great player - absolutely - but I am cautiously optimistic. I don't think his hype was warranted based on his size/strength/etc., those 5-stars should be reserved for the "man-child" types.

Nonetheless, I hope I'm wrong, and hopefully this is seen as a lesson for this staff - that maybe your contingency plan shouldn't be a 12th-grader.

Their contingency plan was Salter, not Juju. A 5th year senior, former 5*, who put up video game numbers at the lower level should be expected to come in and be at least competent at the Big 12 level. He hasn’t been and it’s taken this team from a 9-10 win ceiling to a 5-6 win ceiling.

 

[GawainBuff]

Size and strength, mainly.

Here a story posted by USC's 247 site that talks about his drop in recruiting rankings (citing "subpar measurables", concerns about height, and lack of "real canon": https://247sports.com/college/usc/a...-drops-in-updated-top247-rankings--233664717/

My view is that arm strength is overrated after you get past the "can make all the throws" level, which Juju certainly appears to be able to do. He's not a running QB, so physical size is not as big an issue.

I'd MUCH rather have a QB who can see the field, can read the defenses, and throws accurately than a QB with a "real cannon": re the classic Manning v. Ryan "can just flick his wrist and the ball takes off like a rocket" Leaf (though Peyton was considered to have a big arm, too).

Height is a real factor, but 6'1" (and growing?) should be plenty good enough in college. SS is 6'2" and that worked fine.

 

[BuffinCali]

Size and strength, mainly.

Here a story posted by USC's 247 site that talks about his drop in recruiting rankings (citing "subpar measurables", concerns about height, and lack of "real canon": https://247sports.com/college/usc/a...-drops-in-updated-top247-rankings--233664717/

Juju is bigger than Owen McCown was in 2021, Owen started four games for the Buffs. Juju is a much better QB than Owen is/was. Juju is a 5 star with skills, no need to worry about height - he is not growing taller between this season and next. He should be inserted now. This is a lost season, let's see what the kid has (meaning Shurmur calls a balanced game with a few more passes with Juju than salter, to take advantage of Juju's arm and accuracy).

 

[GawainBuff]

Their contingency plan was Salter, not Juju. A 5th year senior, former 5*, who put up video game numbers at the lower level should be expected to come in and be at least competent at the Big 12 level. He hasn’t been and it’s taken this team from a 9-10 win ceiling to a 5-6 win ceiling.

Yep. We should have looked at his drop-off between 2023 and 2024 a bit more closely. I haven't watched his film, but I imagine he was throwing a ton of first-and-only-read routes or defaulting into scramble drills in 2023, just like he is now. By 2024, I'd imagine defenses adjusted, just as they have this year.

It's really amazing how a senior QB can have so little feel for the game, ability to read defenses, or see the field. He has no touch. He's not accurate, and he can't conceptualize depth on the field. He's not even really that shifty when he's running, which is his thing--I guess.

I'm done. Ready for Juju no matter how that goes.

 

[leftybuff]

Yep. We should have looked at his drop-off between 2023 and 2024 a bit more closely. I haven't watched his film, but I imagine he was throwing a ton of first-and-only-read routes or defaulting into scramble drills in 2023, just like he is now. By 2024, I'd imagine defenses adjusted, just as they have this year.

It's really amazing how a senior QB can have so little feel for the game, ability to read defenses, or see the field. He has no touch. He's not accurate, and he can't conceptualize depth on the field. He's not even really that shifty when he's running, which is his thing--I guess.

I'm done. Ready for Juju no matter how that goes.

CJ Daniels had a lot to do with Salter's 2023 success. He left for LSU for 2024 season and Salter's passing game left with him. I know there was no way anyone could have figured that out before....

 

[Corey Trevorson]

No, my logic is that someone who is supposed to still be in HS shouldn't be getting called out of the bullpen unless they are actually ready. And no, I do not believe he gives us a better chance to win. If he did, we would've seen him in by now.

And FWIW, I am not high on Juju. I've been on the record of sharing the same concerns as the narrative above that's starting to form. Can he develop into a good even great player - absolutely - but I am cautiously optimistic. I don't think his hype was warranted based on his size/strength/etc., those 5-stars should be reserved for the "man-child" types.

Nonetheless, I hope I'm wrong, and hopefully this is seen as a lesson for this staff - that maybe your contingency plan shouldn't be a 12th-grader.

5*'s should not be reserved for "man child" players, it should be reserved for the best of the best, which is what Lewis demonstrated through HS. Lincoln Riley is pretty damn good when it comes to QBs and Lewis was his guy. Lewis is listed at 6'1 190, this stature thing is completely overblown for a college QB. Lewis has a quick release, is very good at distributing the ball, throwing guys open and with accuracy, and is actually able to progress through progressions.

Salter is currently the 4th worst QB in the conference, 217th overall, & the 2nd lowest passing grade in the conference. You honestly believe Lewis can't do better than that as a Freshman? This offense has pretty damn good WRs, they've pretty much been nullified by Salter's inability to throw the ball, nor has Salter demonstrated he can go through progressions, read the field, and throw with anticipation.

With the talent this offense has at WR and the running game being solid he only needs to be a PG, Salter has no ability to do that, Lewis does.

 

[The Alabaster Yak]

5*'s should not be reserved for "man child" players, it should be reserved for the best of the best, which is what Lewis demonstrated through HS. Lincoln Riley is pretty damn good when it comes to QBs and Lewis was his guy. Lewis is listed at 6'1 190, this stature thing is completely overblown for a college QB. Lewis has a quick release, is very good at distributing the ball, throwing guys open and with accuracy, and is actually able to progress through progressions.

Salter is currently the 4th worst QB in the conference, 217th overall, & the 2nd lowest passing grade in the conference. You honestly believe Lewis can't do better than that as a Freshman? This offense has pretty damn good WRs, they've pretty much been nullified by Salter's inability to throw the ball, nor has Salter demonstrated he can go through progressions, read the field, and throw with anticipation.

With the talent this offense has at WR and the running game being solid he only needs to be a PG, Salter has no ability to do that, Lewis does.

Yeah it feels like all Juju really needs to do is be a PG, make the right read and quickly hit the open guy. Even when Salter does what the coaches tell him, he’s usually late doing it. The INT right before half was a perfect example. Same play they scored on earlier and O was open but Salter waited a half second too long before throwing it which allowed the defender to get his hand in and deflect.

 

[Corey Trevorson]

I think you miss the point. CFB is a whole other level than High School. Of all the Frosh playing how many were reclassified? How many are not rather large players for their age? 6'3" makes a huge difference over 6'1" 195. Bear is the shortest at 6'2" but he is 225. The others are all taller than Bear and 225 or above... I think those guys are almost 19 or older. Plus, except for Bear, they were can't miss guys.

That does not mean Juju will not grow b/t this season to next season? I think he will with the nutrition and workouts, but why trot him out if there was an understanding that he would RS, grow and be Prime situated into next year. Do you wish for a Koy Detmer situation, who was a can't miss played in relief early but tore up his knee. Obviously, Koy was really good since he was was drafted and in the NFL for 10 years.

One has to consider Juju's long term options and progressions. It is not to get beat up or losing confidence by playing too young. The only reason you consider Staub playing is Salter being S*** bad, and Staub has played well in a few games, @Houston he did not. You just don't bring Juju in for mop-up or a tough away game (@UT), nor do you shorten/hurt his career by playing him too young and not quite physically developed. If there is an understanding, CU breaks that promise and it does not go well for Juju, he hits to portal.

These comments about Staub are absurd, he had a few good plays against Delaware, that's it. I don't care about Utah before any film was out on him and he had Hunter/Wester/Horn/etc. Staub, in the 1 game he played in full, had 4 turnover worthy plays in 36 attempts, that's terrible.

Lewis played against elite HS talent in GA. This whole "there was an understanding" is based on nothing but cope and is essentially saying throw the season with Salter (because he's shown he's terrible against P4 competition outside of the initial game script). Deferring to Detmer (an example nearly 30 years old) is dumb given it was a knee injury, significant knee injuries can and do happen to players of all sizes. Saying you'll shorten his career by playing him this year is just ridiculous too, so damn many assumptions.

Want to keep rolling Salter out there? Hope you're ok with winning 3 games maybe while you roll out Lewis next year (assuming he doesn't transfer) with minimal to no experience. Seaton wasn't great last year, but was also an elite talent and rightfully played early, great for his development.

 

[The Alabaster Yak]

Another factor is that if we turn leadership of the offense over to JuJu then he gets a bump on how much he can drive our recruiting the next couple years. Peer-to-peer recruiting is often the best recruiting.

The recruiting aspect is huge. They have to solidify the narrative that this program went through a one year rebuild without Shedeur and Travis but is still on an upward trajectory with a promising QB for the next 2-3 years.

 

[Hank]

Disagree that if he stayed in the 2026 class he would have been the #1 or #2 QB.

Lewis was initially ranked #8 on the natinonal composite even after reclassifying. He fell in the recruiting rankings from #8 to #50 on the composite.

Similarly, he was initially ranked #14 on 247 even after reclassifying. He fall all the way to #126.

He fell not because of the reclassification. Rather, there were real questions about his physical stength and size.

Also, I agree (sort of) with the silliness of comparing him to other #6 ranked QBs. It is ironic, however, that Salter is probably his "best case" comp using that silly metric.

This is some serious revisionist history. After being the consensus #1 as a sophomore, he threw for 700 more yards as a junior, while increasing his completion percentage from 66.4% to 75.6%. From wiki...



Nothing explains the drop better than decommitting from USC and committing to Colorado.

 

[Ctrl+Z]

Salter is currently the 4th worst QB in the conference, 217th overall, & the 2nd lowest passing grade in the conference. You honestly believe Lewis can't do better than that as a Freshman?

I retract my statement about him not giving us a better chance to win - I think just about any serviceable P4 QB would help get this team over the hump and win some of these games playing PG. We just don't know what conversations are happening w.r.t his RS, the school no longer has leverage with transfer rules. Or maybe the practice film is just really bad?

 

[The Alabaster Yak]

This is some serious revisionist history. After being the consensus #1 as a sophomore, he threw for 700 more yards as a junior, while increasing his completion percentage from 66.4% to 75.6%. From wiki...

View attachment 92502

Nothing explains the drop better than decommitting from USC and committing to Colorado.

If you look at his ratings history, it started to drop from a .99 (5*) toward the end of the Summer last year when the rumors started stacking up that he was leaving to flip to CU. The services dropped him to a .98 and then eventually .97 leading up to and after he decommitted and flipped to CU

 

[manhattanbuff]

This is some serious revisionist history. After being the consensus #1 as a sophomore, he threw for 700 more yards as a junior, while increasing his completion percentage from 66.4% to 75.6%. From wiki...

View attachment 92502

Nothing explains the drop better than decommitting from USC and committing to Colorado.

This person is just trying to get more clicks to their failing blog by posting rage bait.