Colorado adds ex-Liberty QB Kaidon Salter out of portal as possible replacement for Shedeur Sanders
Liberty quarterback Kaidon Salter (7)plays against Middle Tennessee during an NCAA football game on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024, in Murfreesboro, Tenn. (AP Photo/John Amis, File)
The Colorado Buffaloes have landed ex-Liberty quarterback Kaidon Salter out of the transfer portal to possibly step in and replace Shedeur Sanders next season.
Salter figures to compete with five-star high school recruit Julian “JuJu” Lewis for the starting job. Lewis is expected to join the 20th-ranked Buffaloes (9-3) in the spring semester.
A dual threat, Salter is coming off a regular season for the Flames in which he ran for 579 yards and seven TDs while throwing for 1,886 yards and 15 touchdowns. His total yards per game (224.09 yards) was fourth-most in Conference USA.
Salter led Liberty to an 8-3 mark this season. His former team will play in the Bahamas Bowl on Jan. 4 against Buffalo.
Colorado offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur recently spoke of the need to bring in a player such as Salter as Lewis develops. Shurmur called Lewis a “great decision maker.”
“He has a real sense of timing. He’s a very accurate passer,” Shurmur added of Lewis, a star at Carrollton High School in Georgia. “He has a heroic nature. He has all those things you’re looking for. ... If he does the things that he’s done in high school and continues to improve at this level, then he will have a bright future.”
There are big shoes to fill at quarterback once Sanders wraps up his career following the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 28 against BYU. Sanders broke many school records, including the single-season yards passing mark (3,926) and for passing TDs (35). The Johnny Unitas Golden Arm recipient has a TD throw in 48 straight games, dating to his days at Jackson State.
In other transfer portal moves, Tennessee picked up former Arizona offensive lineman Wendell Moe Jr.
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