An 8th-grade Colorado Jewish student was called a ‘stupid k***’ while being strangled by a laptop charging cord, in one of many antisemitic assaults by other students described in a Title VI complaint to Boulder Valley Public School District.
Colorado
Colorado coach Deion Sanders begins battle to replace son at quarterback
Let the best player win, but this quarterback situation at Colorado could get delicate
Tim Tebow shares advice for incoming NFL rookie class
Tim Tebow shares some valuable advice for incoming rookies like Shedeur Sanders and Cam Ward.
Sports Seriously
Before spring football practice sprung again Tuesday at Colorado, a certain controversy already had started to bloom under head coach Deion Sanders.
It’s all about the quarterbacks: Who will replace Sanders’ son Shedeur at the most important position on the field?
Will it be the veteran transfer from Liberty, Kaidon Salter?
Or the hotshot rookie recruit from Georgia, Julian “JuJu” Lewis?
Could it even be both?
“We have to determine who the best guy is,” Colorado offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur said Tuesday at a news conference in Boulder. “And God willing we have a number of guys that could be the best guy, and they just go out there and compete.”
The answer might not come until the fall, but it likely will remain the biggest storyline to follow as the Buffaloes begin their third spring season this week under “Coach Prime.”
Both new quarterbacks, along with returning backup Ryan Staub, are vying to replace Shedeur Sanders, who is likely to be a top NFL draft pick next month after becoming arguably the top quarterback in school history. Salter, Lewis and Staub addressed the news media for the first time Tuesday after the first spring practice of the season.
What did the new Colorado quarterbacks say?
A big reason this quarterback situation is so intriguing is that both players came to Colorado to play right away, not wait for next year.
Lewis is only a freshman but told the Pat McAfee show in November that he chose Colorado in part because he wanted a chance to start as a freshman and that he “wouldn’t have much fun sitting on the bench.”
But then in December, the Buffaloes also brought in Salter, who is down to his final year of college eligibility in 2025 after starting for Liberty the past two seasons.
Salter explained Tuesday he chose Colorado in part because he saw a wide-open opportunity after the departure of Shedeur.
“They really had nobody after him,” Salter said. “They brung in JuJu, and coach wanted to see me come in and compete with JuJu. And it’s all working out right now, just coming in helping JuJu out, and also helping each other out.”
Lewis was not directly asked about Salter Tuesday but acknowledged it’s the biggest topic of the spring outside the program at least.
“I mean, of course, everybody thinks it’s a quarterback battle and stuff like that,” Lewis said. “But I mean, we’ve got such great quarterbacks in the room and just great personalities. I just love being around the guys every day and just happy to be here.”
Kaidon Salter vs. JuJu Lewis
Another factor adding to the drama is how different they are in terms of experience and style. Salter, 21, is a dual runner and passer who had 5,887 passing yards and 56 passing touchdowns in four years at Liberty, along with 2,063 rushing yards and 21 rushing touchdowns.
“Everybody know I have no problem with running,” Salter said. “It’s something that a lot of teams won’t be able to stop whenever they do throw me out there to do those types of things.”
Lewis, 17, is more of a pocket passer. He threw for 3,798 yards and 48 touchdowns last year in high school at Carrollton, Ga., but had only 86 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns.
Both know how to win. Lewis was 39-4 as a starter in high school. Salter was 23-6 at Liberty, including a 13-1 season in 2023.
“I’ve got more to prove to myself than anybody else,” Lewis said. “I’ve been getting called overrated since I was 7. So it’s kind of like, it kind of is what it is on that part of football. But I just want to go in and ball out.”
Delicate situation for Deion Sanders
For all the talk of letting the best player win the job in competition, the reality is both could be offered more money to play somewhere else if things don’t go their way this spring. Lewis originally committed to Southern California before switching to Colorado. He’ll have options if Salter wins based on experience.
“It’s not that deep,” Shurmur said of how the decision will be made. “You bring in new players and they come in and compete their butts off. And our responsibility as coaches is to make sure we play the best player.”
That decision was easy the past two seasons with Shedeur Sanders as QB1. Now it’s up for grabs through the spring game at Folsom Field April 19 and beyond.
“We gotta replace him,” Shurmur said. “I think the important thing for all teams, you sort of rebuild the roster and you have to start over.”
`We have a better team’
Deion Sanders did not speak to the news media Tuesday but shared his thoughts about his new team in a team meeting Monday, as documented on the YouTube channel of his eldest son, Deion Jr.
“We have a better team than we had last year, and we’re gonna prove it this spring,” Deion Sanders said to his team Monday.
That’s quite a statement considering Colorado lost Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter to the NFL, along with Shedeur and his brother Shilo Sanders, a starting safety.
Colorado finished with a 9-4 record last year under Deion Sanders. The Buffs open the 2025 season at home against Georgia Tech on Aug. 29.
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com
The ADL (the Anti-Defamation League) has filed a federal civil rights complaint with the US Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, alleging that Jewish Student A was subjected to repeated antisemitic bullying, slurs, and physical assault by multiple fellow students at Southern Hills Middle School (SHMS) throughout 7th and 8th grade.
In one incident, students in Student A’s PE class attempted to play a game called “Jew touch tag” and said Jews were “dirty” and “contaminated.”
In another, in December 2025, a classmate reportedly fashioned a Chromebook charging cord into a lasso, threw it around the student’s neck and dragged him backward from a chair while calling him a “stupid k***.” This was deemed severe enough that the Boulder Police Department was called in to investigate.
Following this particular incident, the Boulder Police Department opened a Juvenile Court Referral for third-degree assault.
ADL says no meaningful action taken by school district over assault
As a result of these incidents, Student A no longer wears a Star of David necklace and does not share his religious identity with anyone.
ADL and the family allege that the school took no meaningful action despite being informed of the situation on multiple occasions. For example, the complaint says the school failed to enforce the no-contact order between Student A and the classmate involved in the Chromebook assault.
The complaint also says that the burden was consistently placed on the victim, such as reassigning his study hall class rather than restricting the aggressor, forcing him to miss a school trip, and asking him to leave class early to avoid crowded hallways.
“The record here is overwhelming: written pleas from the student’s parents, formal school reports, and a police investigation all point to the conclusion that antisemitic harassment at Southern Hills Middle School was pervasive, escalating, and severe,” said James Pasch, ADL Vice President of Litigation.
“Despite the family’s pleas for help to stop the harassment, the school district failed to effectively address it, a clear violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. No family should have to fight this hard to ensure a Jewish child’s safety at school, and certainly no Jewish student should face the threat of assault or harassment because of their Jewish identity.”
Susan Rona, ADL Mountain States Regional Director, noted that 167 antisemitic incidents were recorded in Colorado in 2025, a “stark reminder that antisemitism is not something abstract – it is showing up in our communities, in our neighborhoods and even in our schools.”
ADL is requesting that the US Department of Education require the district to take steps to comply with Title VI and ensure that this student and all Jewish students feel safe and protected.
Boulder Valley School District said that while it does not comment on ongoing legal matters, “we take all allegations of discrimination and harassment seriously.”
“We continue to focus on improvements to our policies, reporting systems, practices, and education efforts – all with the goal of ensuring every BVSD student feels safe, welcomed, and a strong sense of belonging.”
When you walk inside the Conoco station at the corner of University Boulevard and Bonnie Brae Boulevard in Denver, you can’t help but notice the history on the walls.
“Here’s the 40s. The 50s and my dad and uncle in the 70s,” says owner Ken Wilson pointing to the pictures on the wall.
Ken is the third generation of the Wilson family to own the gas station and service center.
“Grandpa Ken started to lease this out in 1942. My dad bought the business from my grandpa and my uncle worked his whole career here for my dad and for me,” Ken recalls.
In all, the Wilson family has owned the Conoco station for more than 80 years.
“I started working here in 1978 when I was 12, just part time in the summers. I worked through high school and through college and then did my own thing, and I’ve been back here about 15 years,” said Ken.
“It means so much to our family. It’s been a great business.”
But Ken is the end of the road for the Wilson family ownership. In February, a for sale sign went up at the Bonnie Brae Conoco.
“We’re just looking now. We’re not in a rush. It’s not like we’re going to sell and be done this year. We’re going to get a price we want to get, and if it takes us years to do that’s okay,” he said.
Wilson has seen a lot of change during his time working at the station and service center.
“There aren’t a lot of garages anymore. They used to be everywhere. There were four of them on this block when I was a kid, he said.
When asked what he’ll miss most, Ken points to his relationship with his customers.
“I’ve had customers now where I actually waited on their grandparents. And then their parents. And now them.”
As for what his grandpa would say if he could see the place now, Ken says, “I think he’d say he was really proud of what we’ve done. Both my father, my uncle and myself. Hopefully he’s still hanging around here once in a while.”
The Colorado Buffaloes are still putting the finishing touches on their 2027 class over the next few months, but their 2028 recruiting plan continues to take shape.
Earlier this week, Deion Sanders’ staff extended an offer to one of the top prospects in the class of 2028, composite five-star wide receiver Jaylen Addai. Addai now holds 43 offers, including one from nearly every blue-blood program in the country.
247Sports’ Composite currently ranks Addai as the No. 12 overall prospect in the 2028 class, the No. 3 overall wide receiver and the top player from the state of Texas.
At 5-foot-11, 165 pounds, the Pearland, Texas native fits the mold of the modern-day receiver. He seems likely to fill into his frame given his youth. Addai is a multiple-sport athlete with elite athleticism on the field, on the basketball court and on the track.
Given how early it is in Addai’s recruitment, several teams are in contention for his commitment, with Notre Dame and Ohio State leading the way early. When the 2028 cycle picks up later this year, who really has a chance should come into focus, especially when visits begin.
Colorado’s 2028 class does not have any commitments yet, but has offers out to 28 different wide receiver prospects.
Follow Charlie Strella on X, Threads and Instagram.
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