Colorado signee Kaidon Salter transfers from Liberty ready to compete

LANCASTER, Texas — One by one, Mistee Salter slowly pulled the 16 x 24 framed photos partially hidden behind a chocolate-colored ottoman. In one photo, Liberty University quarterback Kaidon Salter poses with the Conference USA championship trophy. In another, he’s standing tall in the pocket, searching for a target.

There’s Salter celebrating a touchdown in one photo and taunting a fallen defender in another. And there he is soaring through the air like Superman for a touchdown in the final photo she pulls out.

The pictures, presented to Salter by Liberty University’s Flames Rising Collective, represent three productive years. He led Liberty to a 21-4 record while passing for nearly 6,000 yards with 56 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. He rushed for 2,013 yards and 21 touchdowns. Those accomplishments positioned the graduate transfer to enter the transfer portal and join Colorado, one of America’s hottest college football programs, and head coach Deion Sanders.

He picked Colorado over Syracuse, and it wasn’t all that difficult. He liked Syracuse coach Fran Brown and respected his desire to forge a close relationship, but he wanted to play in Colorado offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur’s quarterback-friendly offense.

It helped that his younger brother, Kylan, a sophomore linebacker at TCU, played for Sanders’ youth team, TRUTH, for several seasons. Kaidon Salter also wanted to play in a Power 4 conference.

“The coaching staff they have – all the NFL coaches – they know what it takes to get to that level,” Kaidon Salter said a few minutes before heading out to a practice session with former NFL quarterback Seneca Wallace.

“Playing under Pat Shurmur, a former NFL head coach, and playing under that system and showing my arm talent on that big stage is a dream that I’ve always had.”

Kaidon’s father, Ken Salter, said the Flames’ offense became more option-based when Hugh Freeze left Liberty to coach Auburn after the 2023 season.

“His goal is to get to the next level. The offensive scheme wasn’t conducive to him being prepared to make the jump to the next level,” Ken Salter said. “He loves the way Pat Shurmur teaches and runs his offense. It’s a very quarterback-friendly from a learning standpoint. It’s a simple offense to learn, even though the offense is complex.”

First, though, Kaidon Salter must earn the job.

Deion Sanders has transformed Colorado from one of college football’s worst programs to one of its highest-profile programs in two seasons. Colorado has won nine games, the most since a 10-win season in 2016. The program has momentum, and good quarterback play is essential.

Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, expected to be one of the first two QBs selected in the NFL draft, will play his final game Saturday in the Valero Alamo Bowl in San Antonio. Salter will compete with highly touted five-star quarterback Julian “JuJu” Lewis for the starting job.

Deion Sanders has promised nothing but the opportunity for Salter and Lewis to compete for the starting job. Lewis, a four-year starter in high school, led his team to the Georgia Class 6A championship game this season. He completed 30 of 42 passes for 333 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions in a 38-24 loss.

“The young man is phenomenal, what he’s done in high school football,” Deion Sanders said recently of Lewis. “The kid is a winner. He’s won all his life. That’s what we love about him.”

Colorado plays on national TV most weeks and opponents prepare for Sanders’ team with an intensity usually reserved for college football’s blue bloods. Now, they’re expected to win. That’s why Colorado wanted an experienced quarterback to pair with Lewis.

“The competition with JuJu will be nice,” Salter said. “I remember coming in my freshman year how much pressure I had on me — how much pressure I thought I had on me — and being able to be with him and compete with him, coach him up on the little things is going to be exciting.”

Mistee Salter said her son can help Lewis adjust to Colorado.

“Kaidon has been in his shoes before, coming into a big program like Colorado and being under the lights. Those are different kind of lights,” she said. “You’re coming in with high expectations. Kaidon has been under the lights in a positive and negative way.

“When the lights come on, it’s a totally different ballgame. It’s a wonderful opportunity for both of them to keep each other on their toes.”

Lewis, who reclassified from the 2026 class to the 2025 class, is 17 years old. He will practice with Colorado as it prepares for its bowl game.

“We’re hoping to put his butt on that scout team and let him run against the [starters],” Deion Sanders said recently. “We’re going to see if you flinch. We’re gonna see what you got.”

Shedeur Sanders passed for 3,926 yards with 35 touchdowns and eight interceptions in his first full season in Shurmur’s offense. His 168.8 passer rating was the highest of his illustrious four-year career, which began with his father at Jackson State.

“It’s a spread offense. You can’t dink and dunk it down the field. It’s similar to a West Coast offense. As a Black quarterback, that’s something I have to show to get to the next level,” Kaidon Salter said. “Everybody knows I can run the ball. That box has already been checked.

“Me playing in the Big 12 and showing my arm talent is something I need to do.”

Sure, but the NFL is more open to dual-threat quarterbacks than ever.

Of the six quarterbacks taken in the first round of the 2024 draft, three of the first four taken were Black signal-callers. Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, the No. 2 pick in 2024, has 3,303 yards passing and 737 yards rushing with 28 total touchdowns. Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson, a 2018 first-round pick, has been named MVP twice and has had more than 700 yards rushing each of the last six seasons. An NFL-record 15 Black quarterbacks started Week 1 of the NFL season. Heading into the season’s final two weeks, the league has 14 Black starting quarterbacks.

Now, though, Salter is focused on the final season of his journey that began at Tennessee, where he was dismissed from the team before he ever played a game, took him to Liberty where he became a star, and has thrust him into college football’s spotlight.

“I’ve evolved a lot since Tennessee,” Salter said. “I got a lot closer to God. I had a lot downfalls at the beginning of my college days and that’s something I had to bounce back from to get where I am now.”