One of the biggest questions facing Deion Sanders and Colorado over the last two games of the season will be whether or not to sit Julian Lewis for one of the two to avoid burning a redshirt year with nothing left to play for after the Buffs' seventh loss on Saturday.
Lewis made his first career start against West Virginia on the road, flashing the immense potential that he arrived in Boulder with. Despite facing consistent pressure without both starting tackles and being sacked seven times, Lewis showed moxie and a resolve far beyond his experience level. He made some eye-opening throws, developing an immediate rapport with junior WR Omarion Miller, a connection that could morph into one of the best in the country next season.
Lewis is the unquestioned starting QB for this team moving forward. This year and for the future. He's the new face of the program, providing some much-needed optimism in an otherwise bleak season for Colorado.
But Sanders will have to decide whether one additional game of experience is worth burning Lewis' redshirt season with no path to the postseason. That will be a conversation with Coach Prime, Lewis, and Lewis' parents over the bye week.
Lewis has already made up his mind, though.
"I wanna play football," Lewis said. "I've been sitting down all season. I'm ready to play, the guys are ready to work. I'm on that."
Julian Lewis has no desire to preserve his redshirt season
Lewis is a competitor. He's obviously not going to say he doesn't want to play. That's why the decision will likely be in the hands of Sanders, who will undoubtedly make the choice he believes is best for the young man. That's why parents trust their kids to him. He's all about them, and what's best for the individual, and not what's necessarily best for him or his team.
Lewis wants to play. Colorado fans want to watch him play. After the bye, he'll undoubtedly start the home game against Arizona State, allowing the Boulder faithful to watch the budding superstar QB in person for the first time at Folsom Field. But the final game of the regular season, a road tilt at Kansas State, will be when Sanders has to decide what to do with Lewis.
If he's this good already, he's probably got little chance of staying in college for five years anyway, rendering a redshirt moot. But injuries are always a very real concern, and you would hate to see something like that steal any time away from the future star QB.
The next two to three years will belong to Lewis in Boulder. Sanders will have to decide whether the next two games do, too.