The arrivals of head coach Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders and players Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter in Boulder, Colorado, brought about an unprecedented wave of attention and excitement for the Colorado Buffaloes football program.
However, while Coach Prime has expressed his intent to return to the Buffs next year, Shedeur Sanders and Hunter will be off to the NFL. While it will be hard to find a singular player who can replicate the Heisman winner in Hunter’s two-way brilliance, it appears Colorado has found its successor to the younger Sanders at the quarterback position.
Salter posted the news on social media on Dec. 18, also using the quote that has become synonymous with Deion Sanders as his caption, saying, “I ain’t hard to find.”
Salter began his college career at Tennessee in 2021 before being dismissed from the program following an offseason arrest. He then enrolled at Liberty and took a redshirt year in 2021. Salter was then a part-time starter at Liberty in his redshirt freshman year in 2022 before becoming the full-time starter for each of the past two seasons. He led the Flames to a 21–4 record over the last two years, leading Conference USA with 32 passing touchdowns in 2023, while also topping the conference with 6.7 yards per rush.
Salter passed for 2,876 yards, ran for 1,089 yards, and finished in the top 10 in the nation in passer rating (176.6), total yards (3,965) and total touchdowns (44).
For his efforts, Salter was named the 2023 Conference USA Most Valuable Player, and while his production took a step back in 2024, he still ranked among the top five in CUSA in both passing touchdowns (15) and rushing scores (seven). His success has Liberty playing in the Bahamas Bowl versus the Buffalo Bulls on Jan. 4, but Salter will not suit up.
Salter was one of the most coveted quarterbacks in the transfer portal, and he announced his intent to enter on Dec. 2. Per 247Sports, Salter is the No. 11 quarterback in the portal and is among the top 100 ranked transfers overall. His commitment comes in his second foray into the transfer portal as he also entered it after the 2023 season, only to withdraw and return to Liberty.
The chance to replace one of the most prolific quarterbacks in the nation in Shedeur Sanders undoubtedly played a big factor in Salter choosing the Buffs, as Colorado’s pro-style offense is a big reason why Sanders is projected to be the first quarterback selected in next year’s NFL Draft. Sanders finished eighth in Heisman voting, which was a selling point for Salter, but the newest Colorado Buffalo also has another tie to both Deion and Shedeur Sanders.
Salter is from Cedar Hill, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, and he attended Cedar Hill High School from 2017 to 2021. His time in high school overlapped with that of Shedeur Sanders, who just so happened to also play high school ball in Cedar Hill at Trinity Christian School. You can probably guess who Shedeur’s coach was at that time, as Deion Sanders was Trinity Christian’s offensive coordinator before jumping to the college ranks, so this is a bit of a reunion for Salter and Deion Sanders, who will finally get to join forces in Boulder.
While Salter will be the biggest name in the quarterback room for Colorado come next season, he won’t necessarily be handed the starting job. Among incumbent Buffs quarterbacks, Ryan Staub is atop the depth chart and was the only player besides Shedeur Sanders to throw a pass for Colorado this season. He was a three-star prospect coming out of high school, while the school also has a four-star recruit on the way in Julian Lewis. He’s a top-10 ranked quarterback in the Class of 2025 and signed his letter of intent with Colorado earlier this month.
Thus, Deion Sanders has options to replace his son, though Salter is clearly the leading candidate. Coach Prime has led a remarkable turnaround for a destitute program in just two years, in addition to being in its first year back in the Big 12. Colorado was 1–11 two years ago, which was the worst record in all of the Football Bowl Subdivision, and then the Buffs notched four victories in Sanders’ first year with the program in 2023.
This year, he has Colorado at nine wins, with the potential for a 10th coming in the Alamo Bowl versus BYU in a rare bowl game between two teams from the same conference. Despite heading to next spring’s draft, Shedeur Sanders will still play versus BYU before, seemingly, handing the keys of Colorado’s offense over to Salter, who will have one year of college eligibility remaining.
