What Deion Sanders' Latest Comments Say About Colorado Freshman Julian Lewis

BOULDER — True freshman quarterback Julian "JuJu" Lewis is doing everything right off the field ahead of his second career start against the Arizona Sun Devils this weekend.

While he'll face a greater challenge in Arizona State compared to his first start against West Virginia, Lewis won't lack for preparation, as the Colorado Buffaloes are coming off another valuable bye week. The former five-star quarterback stayed in Boulder during the off week and logged a healthy nine hours of film study, according to coach Deion Sanders.

"He didn't even go home," Sanders said of Lewis on Tuesday. "He stayed here and just hammered. I think he had an hour's worth of film time before we left. We come back and he has nine hours. That's what you want to see."

Julian Lewis Maximizing Game Prep

What Deion Sanders Latest Comments Say Colorado Freshman Julian Lewis JuJu Buffaloes Quarterback Preparation Arizona State CU — Sep 6, 2025; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Julian Lewis (10) before the game against the Delaware Fightin Blue Hens at Folsom Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Lewis shouldn't lack much knowledge on Arizona State when the Buffs and Sun Devils meet at Folsom Field on Saturday. As "Coach Prime" said, the freshman gunslinger is putting in all the necessary work to both get ready for Arizona State and improve his own game.

Faced with the pressure of his first college start, Lewis threw for 299 yards and two touchdowns against the Mountaineers, who ultimately downed the Buffs, 29-22. The subsequent bye week should help Lewis take advantage of another important opportunity to lead Colorado's offense against ASU.

"Now you've gotten out there, you're seeing how it is, you got the lay of the land," Sanders said. "Some of the mistakes you made, we don't expect you to make those again because now you understand what we want. You got game action, you got live action. You understand where the blitz is coming from, what they're going to do to you. We got packages for that. We got things implemented in those calls. When you feel heat, let's get out of it, and let's go to something else."

Without starting offensive tackles Jordan Seaton and Larry Johnson III, Lewis took seven sacks against West Virginia and was pressured on several other plays.

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Importance Of First Down

Sanders added that getting positive plays on first down will be key to keeping Lewis and Colorado's offense on track.

"You know what we've got to do on first downs and how valuable that is," Sanders said. "A young quarterback can come in, and sometimes they think it's 7-on-7 because 7-on-7 is taking over country right now with high school football and whatever. You got to understand, this is football. You got to get a little bit at a time and move the chains and not just chunks. You can't think like that. He's doing a great job of maturing and understanding how to study film."