Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders made a shocking announcement about his starting quarterback for the Buffaloes' upcoming game against the Houston Cougars on Friday night.
According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, the Buffs will start third-stringer Ryan Staub Friday.
This is what Thamel tweeted out:
“Sources: Colorado is expected to start Ryan Staub at quarterback for the game at Houston on Friday night. He entered the Delaware game on Saturday as the third-string quarterback and shined, completing 7 of 10 passes for 157 yards and two touchdowns.
Staub was spotted working with the first team in practice on Monday, and the staff has made clear that Staub will start this week. Staub started one game for Colorado in 2023 in place of injured Shedeur Sanders.
Staub's emergence from third-stringer to starter over Liberty transfer Kaidon Salter and highly-regarded freshman Julian Lewis comes as a surprise. When asked about the future at quarterback in the postgame, Deion Sanders said, “I’m not lost for direction."
Sanders had said before he made the official announcement that he was open to the idea of starting someone else at that position. Here’s his full statement from Saturday.
"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 ... "[Staub] has just been waiting for his opportunity. Never jumped in the portal, he had every right to think that way. ... All he needed was the opportunity, and I thought it was time."
Staub, who is a fifth-year senior, is getting the start over two five-star players, Liberty transfer Kaidon Salter and five-star freshman Julian Lewis.
Salter was named a starter before the season started, although he hasn’t played badly; clearly, Staub has something that the other two didn’t.