Deion Sanders wants Julian Lewis to tell media 'what happened' after QB's benching

Deion Sanders faced questions after Colorado’s 29-7 loss to No. 12 Texas Tech on Saturday, but he rejected the suggestion that Julian Lewis had been demoted to third string.

“No, no. I would love JuJu to come in here and he tell you what happened. Don’t ‘you benched JuJu from first string to third string.’ No, that’s not how it went down,” Sanders said. “It didn’t happen like that.”

Sanders declined to elaborate, deepening the mystery around Lewis’s status. The exact reason for Lewis’s drop is not confirmed; Sanders did not explain what happened.

THE QB SITUATION

What happened with Lewis in Lubbock was stark. The 19-year-old former five-star recruit opened the season as Colorado’s starter and, just three weeks ago, torched Weber State for 366 yards and four touchdowns. Against Texas Tech, he never left the sideline as Isaac Wilson made his first start of the year.

Sanders acknowledged the obvious while refusing to frame it as a benching. “JuJu didn’t play today,” he said, but added he would not “badger the kid or say anything derogatory about the kid.” He pivoted quickly: “I’m more worried about our team.”

The exact reason for Lewis’s drop remains unconfirmed. Sanders denied a demotion outright, yet offered no alternative explanation for how a quarterback who threw for four scores three weeks ago became a spectator a week later.

A SEASON OF STRUGGLE

The slide has been sudden. Colorado has dropped three straight, including a 41-7 rout at Northwestern, and now sits at 2-3, fighting to stay afloat in the Big 12.