CU Buffs football is back, and freshman QB Julian Lewis is ready for spring ball

It has been roughly two and a half months since the Colorado Buffaloes were in action when the team played in the Alamo Bowl against the BYU Cougars. A lot has changed since then, as lots of talent has left the Buffs for the 2025 NFL Draft, but plenty of new talent has made its way to Boulder.

One of the newest additions for the Buffaloes is true freshman quarterback Julian “JuJu” Lewis, who many believe will be the next cornerstone of Colorado football.

Lewis spoke for the first time as a Buff on Tuesday, and showed his excitement for spring practices to start.

“It was definitely great… finally [the] time came,” Lewis said. “I’m bored waiting… it’s definitely the best part today, getting to actually play football.”

Lewis was with the team for the bowl game but was dealing with a finger injury he suffered at the end of his high school season in 2024. This was his first time on the field for his first official college football practice.

The quarterback position was going to be a big question mark after the departure of Shedeur Sanders to the NFL, and many people knew that it needed to be addressed throughout the 2024 season. After being committed to USC, Lewis made the decision to flip to Colorado on Nov. 21, 2024.

“The building process of the organization… it was hard to pass up on the opportunity to come [play] under Prime,” Lewis said.

Lewis will be in a quarterback battle all offseason with Liberty transfer Kaidon Salter, who has much more experience than the young freshman who reclassified from the class of 2026 to 2025. He’s only 17 years old, and even though the talent is there, it will take him time to get adjusted to the speed and competitiveness of Power 4 football.

However, Lewis isn’t focused on the QB battle.

“Everybody thinks it’s a quarterback battle,” Lewis said. “… We’ve got such great quarterbacks in the room and great personalities, like I just love being around the guys every day and [I’m] just happy to be here.”

Spring practices for the Buffs will take place for the next month leading up to the Black & Gold Spring Game on April 19, when Buffs fans will get their first look at the freshman in a Colorado uniform.

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