‘He’s Ruining His Reputation’ — Former Texas LB Believes Deion Sanders Has Completely Mishandled Colorado’s Murky Julian Lewis Situation
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Colorado’s quarterback situation has become one of the biggest questions surrounding Deion Sanders’ program. The treatment of highly regarded freshman Julian Lewis has added another concern, with Sanders publicly questioning aspects of the young quarterback’s game before removing him during a loss to Baylor.
Now, former Texas linebacker Emmanuel Acho believes the situation could have consequences that reach far beyond the depth chart.
Emmanuel Acho Warns Deion Sanders’ Julian Lewis Approach Could Hurt Recruiting
Acho believes Sanders risks damaging his standing with parents and high school coaches because of how he has handled Lewis.
Discussing on the “Speakeasy,” show Acho questioned whether elite recruits would still view Colorado as the right destination after watching Sanders publicly criticize a five-star quarterback.
“As a coach, he’s ruining his reputation because if you have a five-star player, would you still send that five-star player to Deion Sanders?” Acho said.
Acho pointed to former Colorado offensive lineman Jordan Seaton, who eventually left for LSU, before comparing Colorado with programs such as USC and Oregon that have developed highly regarded quarterbacks.
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He questioned whether parents would make the same choice for their children after hearing Sanders say Lewis lacked leadership as part of his current skill set.
“If you have a five-star quarterback and you know and you could send him to Oregon and you know what Oregon has historically done with their quarterbacks, Marcus Mariota, Justin Herbert, Dante Moore, would you now send that quarterback to Colorado when Deion Sanders has just publicly questioned the leadership of that quarterback?” Acho asked.
The concern, according to Acho, extends to what NFL scouts may hear from a player’s college coach. “And when scouts ask about a player, they’re going to ask the head coach, ‘Hey, is he a leader?’ And Deion says, ‘That’s not his necessary skill set right now,’” he said.
Acho argued that Colorado’s recruiting appeal could become uneven if elite prospects believe Sanders handles certain positions differently.
“Unless they’re a cornerback. Cornerback, beyond the shadow of a doubt. Safety, beyond the shadow of a doubt, DB, yeah, but, like, what linebackers have gone to Colorado in the last three or four years?” he said.
He also questioned the program’s development of players at other positions, asking, “What D-lineman, what offensive lineman, what running backs, what quarterbacks not named his son?”
Lewis’ situation became more complicated after Colorado’s 23-13 loss to Baylor. Sanders benched the freshman at halftime and replaced him with Utah transfer Isaac Wilson, who led a 95-yard touchdown drive after entering the game. Colorado entered that contest 2-1 before falling to 2-2.
According to PFN’s Offense Impact Metric, Colorado’s offense ranks 89th nationally with an impact score of 71.7.
Sanders has continued to keep the quarterback competition open in practice while preparing for No. 12 Texas Tech. The situation follows his earlier comments that Lewis was not “there yet” and that he could not expect something from the quarterback that was not in him at that point.
Acho believes those decisions carry significance in the NIL era, where elite recruits and their families have more options.
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“If you got a five-star, you better respect that five-star,” he said. “Because otherwise high school coaches are going to be like, ‘Hold on now. I’m not sending my player there if this is how you do five-stars.’”
“I think he could be ruining his coaching reputation,” Acho concluded.
For now, Lewis remains at the center of Colorado’s quarterback discussion, with Sanders still weighing his options ahead of the Texas Tech matchup.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.
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