The University of Colorado Boulder Football team’s Zach Atkins lines up for a play during their spring scrimmage at Folsom Field on Saturday, April 19, 2025. (Scott Tan/CU Independent)
The University of Colorado Buffaloes officially began the new season of college football on Saturday with the 2025 Spring Game. The Coach Prime era of Buffs football has made the Spring Game an offseason staple, with 2023’s installment streamed live on ESPN, and Saturday’s on ESPN2.
The biggest story to watch during the scrimmage was the starting quarterback race between junior Liberty University transfer Kaidon Salter and five-star high school recruit Julian Lewis. Surprisingly enough, Lewis came out with the first team, but Salter’s substantial experience showed multiple times throughout the afternoon for a better overall performance.
“We have such a great quarterback room,” Lewis said after the game. “He’s [Salter] big bro, getting his little tips and tricks … I can’t really knock him and say he doesn’t know something, he’s been there and done that.”
The 2025 season is a new era of the program. It’s the first season under Coach Prime that his son, quarterback Shedeur Sanders and Heisman counterpart Travis Hunter aren’t on the team. To complete their legacy at Folsom Field, the pregame ceremony had tribute videos and a recap of accomplishments before officially retiring their jerseys within the program.
Hunter’s No. 12 and Sanders’ No. 2 are the fifth and sixth retired numbers in Buffaloes football history, joining the legendary group of Rashaan Salaam (No. 19), Bobby Anderson (No. 11), Byron White (No. 24) and Joe Romig (No. 67).
The decision to retire Sanders’ number came with controversy, since he went 13-12 over his two years with the program and never won a conference championship or bowl game. However, the 20,000 fans at Folsom Field were able to appreciate the quarterback that revived the school’s spirit for football.
The festivities on the field began with special team drills, featuring fan-favorite Alejandro Mata and Louisiana Tech University transfer Buck Buchanan. Mata went 2-3 and Buchanan missed two from 50 before drilling a bizarre 60-yarder.
It was then time for Lewis to lead his regime out on the field. Each quarterback took two drives downfield and tried to score against the new defense unit. Neither would get in the end zone, but Salter had a better act.
The Liberty transfer did a good job of distributing the ball and finding the open receiver. He’d only miss a couple of throws but did a quality job running the tempo of the offense. Lewis had a couple freshman errors, like tripping on a handoff and resorted to a lot of check-downs instead of aiming downfield.
After the drives both generals ran red-zone drills with only wide receivers and cornerbacks. Salter would have the first score, and third-string sophomore Ryan Staub took over mid-drill for Lewis and completed a touchdown to sophomore tight end Charlie Williams.
Sophomore University of Tulsa transfer Joseph Williams was a major target for Salter, looking to be a solid option for the upcoming season. He’ll round out a small but fast wide receiver room with junior Omarion Miller and sophomore’s Dre’lon Miller and Kaleb Mathis, who all watched from the sideline on Saturday.
The defensive secondary looked solid with tight coverage but had a handful of clear pass-interference calls. Freshman corner Ben Bouzi and junior safety Carter Stoutmire were everywhere on the field, rounding out a core with graduate student Preston Hodge and junior DJ McKinney.
However, one senior safety had the best day of anyone on the team. Ben Finneseth, a walk-on who’s been with Colorado since before Coach Prime, was awarded with a scholarship before the game.
“He works hard, he doesn’t take days off,” Coach Prime said about Finneseth. “Smart as a whip. He doesn’t blow coverages, doesn’t miss assignments, always in a good mood, I’ve never seen Ben with a frown.”
After Lewis, Salter and sophomore lineman Jordan Seaton all spoke in the press conference, Finneseth made a surprise appearance.
“All glory to god,” Finneseth said, “I almost started crying the second he said ‘Where’s 28?’ Looking back on the journey it’s been, all the change that’s happened here. I told coach the second I put my head in his shoulder, I said thank you for believing in me. I can’t thank the coaching staff, my teammates, I can’t thank them enough.”
The team has a summer full of practices before kicking-off the season at Folsom against the Georgia Institute of Technology on Saturday, Aug. 29.
Contact CU Independent Sports Editor Baylan Wysuph at baylan.wysuph@colorado.edu.
