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Deion Sanders Makes Strange MLK Reference to Hint at Starting QB Decision

Josh Wilson

Staub could get more opportunity after a stellar performance against Delaware in Week 2.
Staub could get more opportunity after a stellar performance against Delaware in Week 2. / @CFBONFOX on X (formerly Twitter)
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Understandably, the quarterback position with the Colorado Buffaloes is of significant interest this season. It's the first time at Colorado that head coach Deion Sanders can't default the role to his son, Shedeur, whom he entrusted with the important role in his first two years in Boulder.

This year, Coach Prime started the season naming Kaidon Salter his starter, but in the team's second game of the season—a 31-7 win over Delaware—he played three quarterbacks under center, with Ryan Staub emerging as a clear leader of the trio. He passed for 157 yards (7-for-10 passing) and two touchdowns. After one of his touchdowns, he saluted Shedeur.

After the game, Sanders gave a resounding approval of Staub's performance, also indicating his plan coming in was to give run time for all three of Staub, Salter, and Julian Lewis at quarterback.

His approval of Staub included a reference to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

"I don't know if I'm going to disclose the [quarterback plan for Week 3] until we get to our destination, but I saw what everybody else saw today. Martin Luther Staub. That's what he said, he had a dream, right?"

The whimsical comment was a reference to Staub responding to a question on why he decided to stay with Colorado—ostensibly instead of exploring the transfer market—this season as the team's backup, where Staub said, "I had a dream, and I saw something, I just wanted to chase it. I love being here, I love playing for Coach Prime. I'm just so blessed I got the opportunity. All I needed was that opportunity, and we got more work to do."

Staub, remarkably, wasn't even the second-in-line when Salter was announced as the starter. Quite the dream, indeed.

Staub attempted 40 passes in 2023, and just four last season. After showing Coach Prime what he could do in a game situation, don't be surprised if he goes to him again more moving forward this year. After watching him in practice the last few seasons, and now seeing that work pay off in between the buzzers, he would have all the justification he needs to hand him the keys.

More likely is that the quarterback situation stays fluid in Boulder until one of the trio emerges as a consistently able signal-caller, though.

It was a needed win for Colorado after dropping their first contest to Georgia Tech.

Next up is a trip to face the Houston Cougars for the Buffaloes.

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Josh Wilson
JOSH WILSON

Josh Wilson is the news director of the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in 2024, he worked for FanSided in a variety of roles, most recently as senior managing editor of the brand’s flagship site. He has also served as a general manager of Sportscasting, the sports arm of a start-up sports media company, where he oversaw the site’s editorial and business strategy. Wilson has a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from SUNY Cortland and a master’s in accountancy from the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois. He loves a good nonfiction book and enjoys learning and practicing Polish. Wilson lives in Chicago but was raised in upstate New York. He spent most of his life in the Northeast and briefly lived in Poland, where he ate an unhealthy amount of pastries for six months.

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