Colorado put nearly all of its eggs in the Julian Lewis basket.
Unfortunately, that weight was too much to carry so soon.
Deion Sanders benched his former five-star QB recruit at halftime of the Buffs‘ Big 12 opener at Baylor. Backup QB Isaac Wilson provided a second-half spark in Waco and was named the starter the following week vs. Texas Tech.
It seemed like there was a chance that Lewis could return as Colorado’s starting QB after the recent bye week, but Coach Prime made it sound like it was an easy decision.
“You know darn well who’s starting,” Deion Sanders said Tuesday. “You guys knew darn well Isaac was starting.”
Colorado offensive coordinator Brennan Marion took the podium on Wednesday and shed some light on Julian Lewis’ struggles. The 19-year-old is undeniably talented, but he’s simply not ready for everything that comes with being a Power 4 starting QB, let alone being the face of Deion Sanders’ program.
It’s partly due to youth and inexperience. It’s also partly due to an environment that wants to see its highest-paid players perform at a high level right away.
“It’s just the part of society that we’re in,” Brennan Marion said Wednesday. “There’s no time for him to have the progression to go through what you would as a freshman, as a young quarterback. There’s not time when you’re in a win right now situation.
“Nobody cares about development. Everybody, as soon as you lose the game, it’s fire the coach, change the quarterback. So it just sucks for the kids that are young and have talent, right? Because he has the talent and we’ve seen that he has the talent to be out there. Unfortunately, when there’s money on the line now, everybody wants instant results and the kid’s still 19. So his development process is not over. I told him that I still believe in him.”
Julian Lewis led Colorado to score just 24 points in 10 quarters vs. Power 4 opponents before being benched in Waco. He completed just 11 of 16 pass attempts for 75 yards in the first half vs. Baylor. Seven of those 11 completions came behind the line of scrimmage.
It appears that the two INTs Lewis threw during a 41-7 loss to Northwestern the week before made him a bit gun-shy. He seemed unwilling to push the ball downfield, which led to unnecessary sacks and probably made the decision to turn to Isaac Wilson (a gunslinger) an easier one.
Wilson, with his eight career starts, looks like a veteran compared to Julian Lewis, who reclassified and skipped his senior year of high school, a move that in hindsight feels like a misstep.
According to Brennan Marion, that’s another reason why the former USC commit has struggled.
“It’s an A to Z process and he obviously skipped a part of that process by coming out of high school early to college,” Brennan Marion said of Julian Lewis. “So he’s still developing and maturing and being in a new setting, new environment. When you’re playing with the kids you grew up with, you don’t have to have a lot of tangibles and personalities because they know you already. You’ve grown up with those kids.
“Now you have to adjust and adapt to a new locker room, new coaching staff, getting coached a certain way, different offensive coordinators from the previous offensive coordinator, different offense, learning that. There’s just a lot that goes into it.”
Lewis was billed as the heir to Shedeur Sanders’ throne at Colorado. Shedeur also dealt with new personnel around him, new coordinators and coaches but one main difference between him and Julian Lewis is that one was afforded more time to grow.
Shedeur threw nearly 900 passes and 70 TDs at Jackson State before ever taking a snap at Colorado or the Power 5 level. He also played a senior year of high school.
Brennan Marion used Shedeur as an example when talking about Julian Lewis.
“When Shedeur got here, for example, he came from Jackson State,” Marion said. “He’s lived with the head coach who wanted it a certain way every day. So he knew exactly what it was supposed to look like because he was getting yelled at by his dad every day that this is how it’s supposed to look. Then he goes to Jackson State and he builds himself up and he’s a winner there. Then he comes here and he struggles the first year a little bit. Then he turns it on and he becomes one of the top quarterbacks in the country.
“Nobody’s giving Julian that chance because, what? We have to win now, or get out. He’s just not having a chance to be comfortable in his own right.”
Part of what made Shedeur Sanders an elite college quarterback was his maturity. It’s why his nickname was “Grown.” It’s clear that Julian Lewis has some growing (both mentally and physically) to do, which isn’t abnormal for a 19-year old, because talent can only take you so far.
Marion mentioned that Lewis has to “get off the internet” to avoid seeing the online hate and vitriol. All he should be focused on is his development and seizing the next opportunity he gets.
Marion wouldn’t commit to Julian Lewis being the backup to Isaac Wilson this weekend vs. Utah (he said it’s Coach Prime’s decision) but the Colorado OC isn’t giving up on the young QB.
“We’re still coaching him hard,” Marion said of Julian Lewis. “He’s still showing up with the great energy. We talked to his dad and had a great conversation. I’m excited to see where he goes and takes his game when he gets another opportunity. I know he’ll be ready to go because he’s still developing.
“He’s got to continue to develop and work. When his opportunity rises again, he’ll rise up.”
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