CU BUFFALOES

Deion Sanders compares new Buffs QB Julian Lewis to Shedeur

Dec 17, 2024, 1:14 PM | Updated: 1:52 pm

Julian Lewis will play for a championship on Wednesday night and before he laces them up for one final time in his prep career, Deion Sanders is already seeing similarities to Shedeur Sanders.

Lewis is looking to finish a perfect season in the highest division of Georgia football for Carrollton against Grayson in the title game. In 14 games this season, Lewis has tossed for 3,465 yards and 46 touchdowns. He’s 39-3 thus far in his high school career.

Meanwhile, Shedeur is also on the verge of a final game as he will take the field for the last time in black and gold on Dec. 28 in the Alamo Bowl against BYU. The Colorado Buffaloes star is expected to be one of the top picks in the NFL Draft with many believing he’ll be the first quarterback off the board. He’s one game away from completing an awesome college career that has culminated with him ranking in the top 10 nationally in completion percentage, passing yards and touchdowns while breaking school records for passing touchdowns, passing yards, consecutive games with a touchdown pass, quarterback rating and completion percentage.

“I think smart coaches at this level understand what has worked for them and they try their best to replicate that. I saw a lot of similarities between the way Julian’s life has been structured and Shedeur’s,” Coach Prime said Tuesday. “Some of the similarities are unbelievable. That kid right there is everything that we desire in a quarterback. He’s smart, he can make every throw but most of all he’s a winner.”

Lewis committed to Colorado late last month, announcing his decision to join the Buffs on the Pat McAfee Show. He is rated as the sixth-best player in the country and the third-best quarterback in the 2025 class. He reclassified from the 2026 class and now is only ranked in Rivals behind Ohio State’s Tavien St. Clair and Michigan’s Bryce Underwood.

“He’s highly productive,” Buffs offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur said. “He’s a great decision maker, accurate passer, heroic nature.”

Going into the playoffs, Lewis ranked eighth all-time in Georgia prep history for passing yards and fifth for touchdowns despite only playing despite only playing three seasons. But because Leiws is very young, Colorado may still look for a one-year stop-gap quarterback in the transfer portal but he’s the highlight of this class.

“We need to do our very best to get the best players in at that position. We want to be a little greedy about it,” Shurmur said. “Julian’s potential is obviously unbelievable. Look forward to working with him. … At some point, we need to add another QB, maybe with one year left.”

The Buffs have been linked to another winner, former Liberty quarterback Kaidon Salter. The Flames have been 21-4 with Slater the last few seasons. The soon-to-be senior has thrown for 5,889 yards, 56 touchdowns, and 17 interceptions, while also rushing for 2,006 yards and 21 touchdowns in his college career. Slater could be the one-year solution behind Sanders before Lewis blossoms for the future.

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