FRISCO, Texas − Each of the 16 football teams in the Big 12 Conferences sent at least three players here this week for the league’s annual preseason media days event north of Dallas.
But only one sent two quarterbacks.
And only one dared to send a freshman quarterback to face the media here before he even played a single game of college football.
Neither of these choices is normal, not in the Big 12 or anywhere else.
So which teams would do such a thing?
Colorado did both Wednesday under head coach Deion Sanders.
Welcome to Coach Prime’s new world this year after the departure of his quarterback son Shedeur to the NFL.
“We brought both up because I don’t know which one is going to start,” Sanders said Wednesday, July 9.
After returning from a health issue that kept him off campus this summer, Sanders is still trying to strike a delicate balance at the most important position on the field. In December, he brought in two marquee players to help replace his son – celebrated freshman Julian “JuJu” Lewis and veteran Liberty transfer Kaidon Salter. Yet only one can play at a time, creating the possibility of tension if one gets too much attention. In Lewis’s case, he could transfer out if he doesn’t think he’s getting what he deserves in this new era of name, image and likeness (NIL) deals for college sports.
So what does Sanders do?
For now, he brings both.
Why is it unusual for two QBs to be at media days?
Each summer, teams choose which handful of players they want to speak to a horde of media at these preseason conference events. Usually, those players are team leaders or top performers, not freshmen like Lewis, who doesn’t turn 18 until September.
Usually, those teams bring one or no quarterbacks, but almost never bring two, often because the quarterback is an established team leader with no realistic competition for the job. And in cases when there is realistic competition for the quarterback job, teams don’t exactly want to add to the controversy by bringing two quarterbacks to preseason media days.
Last year, not a single team in the Big 12, Big Ten and Southeastern Conferences listed two quarterbacks among its representatives at preseason conference media day events. None of the quarterbacks were freshmen. This year, none of the 18 teams in the Big Ten are bringing two quarterbacks to media days in Las Vegas July 22-24. Of the eight quarterbacks scheduled to appear there, none are freshmen. It’s the same at the SEC’s media days event next week – no freshman players, no teams bringing two QBS.
The Atlantic Coast Conferences has yet to name the attendees for their media days events this month. But last year, four the 17 teams in the ACC did bring two quarterbacks, embracing any quarterback controversy storyline instead of avoiding it as some might prefer. None were freshmen, however.
Sanders and Colorado did it differently this year for a couple of possible reasons, including one they might not want to admit.
- They believe Lewis is ready for this moment, which speaks to their faith in him as a top recruit from Carrollton, Ga.
- They can’t afford to leave Lewis out of the spotlight in favor of Salter. Doing so could increase the risk that Lewis might leave for better opportunities with several years of college eligibility remaining.
Lewis expressed some surprise Wednesday when asked by USA TODAY Sports about coming to Big 12 media days.
“It’s been kind of crazy,” Lewis said. “I didn’t expect to come here this early. I think it shows that Coach Prime and everybody trusts me enough. … The fact that they trust me enough to come speak, it’s definitely wild.”
Why there’s a delicate balance at QB for Colorado
Lewis committed to Colorado in November and signed with the Buffaloes Dec. 4. At the time, he appeared to be the heir apparent to Shedeur Sanders at quarterback despite his youth.
But then the Buffaloes got a commitment from Salter two weeks later – a smart move by Sanders to help ensure success at the position. Salter is entering his final year of college eligibility after becoming an established run-pass threat at quarterback. In 2023, his first season as a full-time starter, he threw for 2,876 passing yards and 32 touchdowns. He also rushed for 1,089 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Based on experience alone, this makes him the likely starter.
Both came to CU expecting to play this year, though the timing of their commitments raises a question: Did Lewis know when he signed that the Buffs would bring in Salter to compete with him?
“They had full transparency about going into the portal and grabbing a guy,” Lewis told USA TODAY Sports Wednesday. “I didn’t think it would be a guy of Kaidon’s caliber of course.”
But he added he’s ready to compete. “That’s football, and that’s life,” Lewis said.
‘We can’t lose’
Salter and Lewis have different styles. In high school, Lewis was more of a drop-back passer instead of a dual threat like Salter.
Salter still reminded him of someone in terms of another important attribute for the position: confidence.
“He’s so much like me when I was a freshman,” Salter said Wednesday.
The two quarterbacks were accompanied to the event Wednesday by Sanders and three other players: offensive tackle Jordan Seaton, defensive back DJ McKinney and kicker Alejandro Mata.
But the quarterbacks got much of the attention. Could both play this season?
“Yeah, as long as they’re doing their jobs and we’re winning,” Sanders said. “We definitely want to continue to develop JuJu, but Kaidon is unbelievable. Kaidon is off the chain. He’s been there, done that. He can get the job done. I wouldn’t have brought him here if I didn’t trust him. But JuJu is coming on round the mountain when he comes. And I love him. I love what he brings to the table. I don’t know how it’s going to play out as long as it plays out. We can’t lose either way with either of those two.”
Colorado opens the season at home against Georgia Tech on Aug. 29.
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com