IN PHOTOS: 5-star QB Julian Lewis poses with $4.6 million NIL-valued Shedeur Sanders during his visit to Colorado
After Shedeur Sanders comes Julian Lewis? Colorado Buffaloes fans were certainly dreaming when five-star quarterback Julian Lewis paid a visit to Boulder over the weekend. Lewis is on his tour of visiting various programs despite being a USC Trojans commit.
The Buffs rolled out the red carpet for the elite prospect who is the No. 1 quarterback in the class of 2025, according to ESPN. "The Sink," a burger joint in Boulder, even named a burger after him: "Juju's Precision Pass Burger."
Meanwhile, CU rolled out the red carpet for Julian Lewis, and he posted a picture of himself on Instagram seated on a golden throne with current Colorado quarterback, the $4.6 million NIL-valued Shedeur Sanders (as per On3), standing by his side.
In an ominous sign to Trojans fans, the Instagram post was captioned:
"ᴘᴇʀꜰᴇᴄᴛ ᴛɪᴍɪɴɢ.⏰👀 #ꜱᴋᴏʙᴜꜰꜰꜱ."
Julian Lewis swayed by the Deion Sanders effect
Coach Deion Sanders has had a contentious relationship with recruiting, preferring to recruit directly from the transfer portal rather than high school prospects due to the immediate urge to win in college football.
The Colorado Buffaloes have had the highest prospect turnover in college football ever since Coach Prime arrived in town, but they have also benefited from the Deion Sanders effect, which has appealed to various recruits.
Julian Lewis has visited Boulder three times and has had conversations about the program with quarterback Shedeur Sanders as well.
During the On3 Elite Series in May, Lewis spoke about the prospect of joining the Buffs due to the attention that they garner in the media and social media after Coach Prime arrived in Boulder.
"Overall, Colorado is probably the biggest name popping right now. They've got a lot going on in terms of Coach Prime, Shedeur, all those guys in terms of media and stuff," Lewis said.
The USC commit also spoke about the impact that Shedeur's stellar 2023 season had on his decision to potentially join Colorado.
"The season Shedeur had last year was kind of unexpected from my standpoint. Just getting to talk to Shedeur about his whole process and all that stuff just kind of opened my eyes to the situation of Colorado. Because I didn't even think of Colorado until Coach Prime and all them moved there," Lewis said.
If coach Sanders manages to make a talent like Julian Lewis flip his commitment to the Colorado Buffaloes from the elite USC Trojans, it will signal to the college football world that the Deion Sanders effect has its benefits.