Julian Lewis Turns Heads With Film Study Comments at Big 12 Media Days

Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Julian Lewis attended Big 12 Media Days alongside coach Deion Sanders and a few of his fellow teammates, and Lewis turned heads with his description of how his preparation has changed under offensive coordinator Brennan Marion compared to Colorado's previous offensive coordinator, Pat Shurmur.

"I'm actually looking at the defenses now. Last year we wasn't really looking at defenses much, just kind of high school, freeballing, just out there playing football. But it's a lot bigger than that now, so, should be fun," Lewis said in a brief interview on ESPNU.

Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Julian Lewis film study deion sanders brennan marion pat shurmur fire hire — Jul 7, 2026; Frisco, TX, USA; Colorado quarterback Julian Lewis speaks with reporters during Big 12 Conference Football Media Days at The Star. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Julian Lewis says last year Colorado was “free balling” all year 💀 pic.twitter.com/0U70kFEZuZ
— SleeperCFB (@SleeperCFB) July 8, 2026

The clip of Lewis revealing that he wasn't studying opposing defense during his true freshman season has turned heads for the wrong reasons. While Shurmur is no longer with the Buffaloes, Colorado's quarterback not watching film of defenses has some questioning "Coach Prime's" leadership of the program.

Sanders made what seemed like a necessary change at offensive coordinator, replacing Shurmur with Marion, but did "Coach Prime" know that his former five-star quarterback, Lewis, was not receiving the best development that he could have been? As the head coach of the Buffs, the buck stops with Sanders.

Colorado's Offensive Struggles in 2025

In 2025, Colorado's offense featured a revolving door at quarterback. Lewis got some experience, playing in four games and preserving his redshirt, while other former Buffs quarterbacks Kaidon Salter and Ryan Staub both had opportunities to prove themselves at the position.

The Buffaloes averaged 20.9 points per game on offense a season ago, and that scoring offense was good for No. 116 out of 136 teams in the country. Only Oklahoma State had a worse scoring offense than Colorado in the Big 12.

In terms of total offense, Colorado wasn't much better in 2025. The Buffs ranked No. 114 in the nation with an average of 328.4 yards per game, and 17.3 first downs per game was good for No. 117 out of 136.

Such little production only led to three wins for Sanders and Colorado, leading to many changes during the offseason. The problems for Colorado in 2025 were not only limited to the offensive side of the ball, though. The Buffaloes' defense struggled to stop the run and ultimately allowed an average of 30.5 points per game.

Colorado Buffaloes' New-Look Coaching Staff

Not only is Marion replacing Shurmur as Colorado's offensive coordinator, but new Buffs defensive coordinator Chris Marve is also replacing former Colorado defensive coordinator Robert Livingston.

Both Marion and Marve bring experience as coordinators to Boulder giving the Buffs some optimism heading into 2026. While new faces at both coordinator positions don't guarantee better development for Colorado's players, it seems as though the quarterbacks will certainly benefit.

In 2025, Marion served as the head coach of Sacramento State, and the Hornets' offense averaged 33.75 points per game. Before that, Marion worked as the offensive coordinator for UNLV for two seasons, and the Rebels averaged 34.43 points per game in 2023 followed by 35.36 points per game in 2024.

"Coach Prime" mentioned his goal of averaging 35 points per game when looking for offensive coordinators to hire, and Marion fits this bill. Will he be able to turn around Colorado's offense?

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