Deion Sanders Criticizes Media After Reports on Colorado QB Decision; Denies Naming Starter
Sanders denied choosing a quarterback for Friday’s Big 12 opener and accused outlets of prioritizing speed over accuracy after reports said third-string Ryan Staub would start
Colorado coach Deion Sanders on Tuesday denied reports that he had named a starting quarterback for Friday’s Big 12 opener at Houston and sharply criticized media coverage that suggested the Buffaloes would turn to third-string Ryan Staub.
“We’re not confirming nothing to y’all, you know that,” Sanders told reporters, saying the program had several capable players at the position. “Staub has been doing a phenomenal job and getting a majority of the reps, but I haven’t made that assessment or decision yet.”
Reports emerged Tuesday that Staub, a redshirt sophomore, had leapfrogged Kaidon Salter and Julian Lewis to take the starting reins. Sanders said he would prefer to control such announcements himself and criticized what he described as a rush to publish unconfirmed information.
“You know, in today’s media, we don’t care about being correct anymore, we just want to be first,” he said. “Nobody gives a dern about being correct, and right. Everybody just wants to be first. That don’t make no sense to me. I would love the integrity we once had with media, I would love that.”
Staub took the majority of the snaps in practice and led Colorado on four series against Delaware last week while Salter and Lewis played two series apiece. Staub finished with 157 passing yards and contributed to three touchdowns, two through the air, in the season-opening win.
Sanders declined to elaborate when asked what he liked about his quarterbacks after reviewing film. “What did I like? That’s a setup. God bless you all,” he said.
The remarks came with Colorado preparing for its conference opener at Houston. Coaches routinely manage quarterback decisions based on practice performance, game plans and matchups, and Sanders’ public admonishment of reporters followed a pattern of blunt comments on media coverage since he took over the program.
Sanders did not indicate a timetable for naming a starter or whether the team’s depth-chart conversations would be made public before Friday’s game. The Buffaloes’ coaching staff has rotated players at several positions in the early going as it evaluates personnel ahead of a Big 12 schedule that will test the roster’s depth and continuity.
Colorado opens league play at Houston on Friday; the program and its coach declined to confirm any change at quarterback beyond Sanders’ comments Tuesday denying that a choice had been made.