Kaidon Salter Shocks with Illness Admission After Colorado Buffaloes Debut

The Colorado Buffaloes didn't get quarterback Kaidon Salter at his best in last week's season opener against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.

During an appearance on the "Colorado Football Coaches Show" on Thursday, Salter told host Mark Johnson that he played through an illness and even registered a 102-degree fever after the game. It certainly wasn't apparent during the game, but Salter was battling more than just Georgia Tech's defense.

"I was sick after the game, I had a 102 (degree) fever," Salter said. "I kind of played sick, but that's no excuse for my play style that day."

Reflecting on Kaidon Salter's Debut

Kaidon Salter Played Illness Colorado Buffaloes Debut Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Deion Sanders Julian Lewis Delaware Blue He — Aug 29, 2025; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Kaidon Salter (3) scrambles with the ball in the second quarter against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Folsom Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Salter finished his Colorado debut with 159 passing yards, 43 rushing yards and two total touchdowns, showing only flashes of his dual-threat capabilities. After the 27-20 loss, Salter and coach Deion Sanders agreed that the Liberty transfer must use his legs more moving forward.

"There's always room to improve on throughout the game, really my first P4 (Power Four) big-time game out here in Folsom Field," Salter said. "But I feel like I went out there and I tried to do the best that I could do. I went out there and I executed the plays that coach wanted me to execute. But still, it's still room for improvement out there with the way the offense connect and run things on game day."

Fortunately, Salter told Johnson that he's feeling better ahead of Colorado's Week 2 matchup against the Delaware Blue Hens. He'll likely start the game before giving way to true freshman Julian "JuJu" Lewis at some point.

Salter added that Colorado has so far responded well to a difficult Week 1 loss.

"We're just trying to stay positive and keep on building and preparing and practicing better," Salter said. "That was one of the things that we tried to focus on this week, just practicing and preparing better so we can go out there and everybody know's their assignments and be better than last week."

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Kaidon Salter on Adversity

Later in the interview, Salter opened up on some of the adversities he has faced in life, including nearly losing his father to COVID-19.

"I've been going through adversity since I started college, going at 17 years old, going to the University of Tennessee for only six months, going to Liberty, going through coaching changes," Salter said. "My first month of college, my dad almost passed of COVID and ended up in a coma for four months. I've been through so much adversity in life to where it's to the point where I just want to have peace."

Salter and the Buffs will host Delaware on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. MT.