Brendon Lewis suited up as a Colorado Buffalo for the final time on Saturday.
After sliding down to third on the quarterback depth chart, Lewis made the decision to enter the transfer portal on Tuesday.
In a statement Lewis posted to Twitter, the former Buffs’ quarterback said, “Over the various changes I’ve encountered throughout my three years at CU, I’ve decided I need to explore my other options and see who can best prepare me for my future.”
Coming into the season, Lewis was in a neck-and-neck competition with J.T. Shrout to be Colorado’s starting quarterback. Lewis was given the start in the season opener against TCU but was benched for Shrout the next week against Air Force.
Both quarterbacks struggled to produce any offense for the Buffs during the first three games of the season before then head coach, Karl Dorrell, turned to true freshman Owen McCown as the starting quarterback.
In Mike Sanford’s first game as interim head coach against Cal, McCown was replaced by Shrout due to injury and at that point, the writing was on the wall for Lewis.
On Tuesday, Sanford talked briefly about Lewis and his decision in the opening statement of his weekly press conference.
“This isn’t a surprise,” Sanford said. “We’ve had ongoing conversations for weeks, myself and he. I’m wanting to lend a helping hand in regard to the relationships I have in the industry. At the end of the day, I think B-Lew needed a fresh start. I’m in his corner and always will be and have a tremendous relationship with B-Lew. Our team wishes him well.”
Lewis showed potential in spurts but never quite put it together at Colorado for a team that was desperately yearning for an offensive spark the last season and a half before coach Dorrell’s dismissal.
In 2021, Lewis started all 12 games for the Buffs putting up 1540 passing yards, 10 touchdowns, three interceptions and completed 58% of his passes with 149 completions on 257 attempts.
Lewis only played in two games this season for the Buffs. He completed 15 of his 24 passes this year for 92 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions.
A former three-star recruit out of Melissa, TX, Lewis was ranked the number 17 dual-threat quarterback prospect in the 2020 recruiting class. There was no denying his athleticism but Lewis only ran for 304 yards and three touchdowns in his 14 games played as a Buff.
Lewis will have plenty of time to make a decision on where his football career goes from here. The North Texas Mean Green showed a great amount of interest in Lewis before he committed to Colorado.
Coach Sanford reemphasized his commitment to Owen McCown as the starting quarterback in a Zoom press conference Sunday night after the win over Cal. Drew Carter (sophomore) is expected to be the third-string quarterback behind McCown and Shrout.
