Colorado Buffaloes football coach Deion Sanders has what the Athletic’s Christopher Kamrani is calling a “conundrum” at the quarterback position in his first month of the post-Shedeur era in Boulder.
After unleashing third-year backup Ryan Staub and getting a strong passing performance that fits Buffs offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur’s pro-style offense, Coach Prime has a QB3 who’s earned the starting job in real time.
Kamrani believes Staub “owned the moment” and gave Sanders a legitimate problem under center.
“And, in the wake of thrusting third-string quarterback Ryan Staub into Saturday’s game against Delaware, Sanders has a legitimate quarterback conundrum for the first time in his college coaching career. Because Staub, the redshirt sophomore, didn’t just step into the spotlight — he owned the moment,” Kamrani wrote.
Coach Prime, to his credit, made it obvious what he feels about the QB position, even if he didn’t explicitly say it.
“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.”
Choosing the multi-year backup over the highly-touted freshman and high-priced transfer is the kind of make-or-break decision a great coach makes if it works out. If not, it’s a decision that’s ridiculed by a fanbase for how bad the optics look.
Coach Prime’s move with a trip to Houston to face the Cougars coming this Friday.