BOULDER — Julian Lewis’ freshman season is over.

Colorado coach Deion Sanders said Tuesday veteran quarterback Kaidon Salter will start Saturday (10 a.m. FS1) at Kansas State in an effort to preserve Lewis’ redshirt as he has already played in the maximum four games allowed.

“That’s my decision,” Coach Prime said. “I want what’s best for the kid, what’s best for the family, what’s best for this wonderful university that has given me the tremendous opportunity (to coach) and given him an opportunity.

“That’s where we’re going. It’s not like he came to me. He’s not built like that. He wants to play, he wants to compete and I love him for that. That’s on me.”

Lewis, a former five-star recruit out of Carrollton, Ga., said after his first career start, at West Virginia earlier this month, he didn’t care about preserving his redshirt. But after he played sparingly against Delaware in Week 2 and came in during the third quarter against Arizona, starting the final three games would’ve meant burning his redshirt.

However, after Saturday’s 42-17 loss to Arizona State, Lewis said he was unsure of whether he would play in the season finale at Kansas State.

“I don’t know. It’s kind of a lot,” Lewis said. “A lot more (goes) into it than just me with the redshirt and (the) situation.”

Sanders stressed at his weekly press conference neither Lewis nor anyone in his family directly asked the Buffaloes to preserve his redshirt.

“I think, for the program, it’s best for everyone, but mainly, it’s great for him,” Coach Prime said. “I’m not gonna say he was happy because he’s a competitor. His father is cut from the same cloth. We had that same conversation, as well, not that he forced it.”

Considering CU is 3-8 and out of bowl contention, it makes sense the Buffs are eager to build around Lewis and several other key returning offensive players heading into 2026. 

The Buffs believe Lewis has shown enough on tape that both high school and transfer players will want to play with the young quarterback at CU. The only thing that could derail that possibility is a potential injury Lewis could suffer in the final game.

“If you’re a recruit in the portal or you’re a high school kid, I mean, you saw him play. He’s the truth. I think that’s a major selling point for next season,” CU junior tight end Zach Atkins said. “I’m really proud of him. He’s a great dude and he’s young, he’s learning, but he handles everything professionally. He’s got such a bright future.”

Across the four games he appeared in in 2025, Lewis finished 52-for-94 passing (55.3%) for 589 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions. His best performance was the start at West Virginia, following the benching of Salter for the second time this season, in which Lewis completed 22-of-35 passes for 239 yards and two touchdowns.

Lewis arrived at CU in January after graduating high school a year and a half early. He will still be 18 years old when the Buffs begin the 2026 season Sept. 5 at Georgia Tech.

“Honestly, there’s no word to describe how much I’ve grown, in terms of coverages, offenses, and reading blitzes and things like that,” Lewis said after Saturday’s game. “In high school, you don’t have to do all that. College guys are doing some different stuff, so (there’s a lot of) new things and (I’m) trying to learn and pick up on them as much as I can.

“Nothing’s better than live reps. So, it’s good. I’m getting these reps early and stuff. I wish I could have done better for my guys.”