The long, tumultuous college football career for Kaidon Salter has hit another road bump. The 4-star Tennessee football signee back in 2021 started the new campaign as QB1 for Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes, but it looks like a trip to the bench is on his way.
After a rough two weeks, including a disappointing showing in Week 2 against Delaware, Pete Thamel has reported that Ryan Staub is set to take over as Sanders' starting quarterback for Week 3. With 5-star freshman Julian Lewis waiting in the wings too, it looks like Salter's time could already be up with the Big 12 program:
New Tennessee RB is getting ready for Georgia in a classic way
Staub's emergence from third-stringer to starter over Liberty transfer Kaidon Salter and highly-regarded freshman Julian Lewis comes as surprise. When asked about the future at quarterback in the postgame, Deion Sanders said: “I’m not lost for direction."
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) September 9, 2025
Kaidon Salter appears to be hitting the bench for Colorado after only 2 weeks
As most of you might remember, Salter was an elite QB prospect coming out of high school in Texas. He signed with the Vols as a 4-star prospect and the No. 7 quarterback in the country according to 247Sports. However, his time in Knoxville didn't last long.
In March of his true freshman year, the youngster was suspended from the dream because of an incident on campus. He was reinstated, but then more off-the-field trouble came for him in June of that year with him being arrested for driving without a license and 'simple possession.' Head man Josh Heupel dismissed him from the program shortly after that.
The QB then spent the next four seasons with Liberty, putting up impressive numbers in back-to-back campaigns. It opened the door for another transfer to Colorado to see if he could take his game to the next level running the offense for Coach Prime.
Salter struggled this past weekend getting the offense going, which led to Sanders giving Staub some extra work out on the gridiron. Against Delaware, Staub tossed for 157 yards and two touchdowns, which now has him on the verge of taking over as the leader on offense for the Buffs.
Shortly after Thamel's report surfaced, Sanders said that no final decision has been made on who will start against Houston on Saturday. However, it sure looks like plenty of signs are pointing to Salter riding the pine and Staub running the show moving forward.