Colorado quarterback Isaac Wilson has been receiving reps with the Buffaloes' No. 1 offense in practice this week and is expected to start against No. 12 Texas Tech on Saturday, sources confirmed to ESPN on Tuesday.
Colorado benched starter Julian Lewis, a former five-star recruit, at halftime of its Big 12 opener against Baylor and turned to Wilson to finish the game, a 23-13 road loss that dropped the Buffaloes to 2-2 on the season.
In his weekly news conference Tuesday, Colorado coach Deion Sanders declined to say which quarterback would start against the Red Raiders and said his decision would depend on how practice plays out during the week.
"I haven't talked to JuJu. I've talked to Isaac. The kid is excited about the possibilities," Sanders said. "He stood up in the meeting and really talked to the team about this and that and challenged them in many ways. So I'm proud of the young man, I really am."
Wilson, a Utah transfer who started seven games for the Utes in 2024, threw for 156 yards and a touchdown on 12-of-25 passing and led the Buffaloes on two third-quarter scoring drives in the loss.
Sanders took responsibility after the game for the decision to bench Lewis while facing a 10-3 halftime deficit. Lewis, the No. 12 overall recruit in the 2025 SC Next 300, has thrown for 733 yards on 64% passing with seven total touchdowns and three turnovers in his first season as the team's full-time starter.
"It's a decision that I made because I was trying to get us going," Sanders said Saturday. "That's it. Just based on let's go, we gotta go, we gotta score some points."
The Buffaloes have scored a total of 34 points in their three games against FBS opponents this season under first-year offensive coordinator Brennan Marion. They currently rank No. 114 in FBS in scoring offense at 21.5 points per game, thanks to a 52-point performance against FCS Weber State.
Wilson is the younger brother of New Orleans Saints quarterback Zach Wilson and a former four-star recruit. He threw for 1,510 yards with 10 touchdowns and 11 interceptions as a true freshman starter with the Utes in 2024.
CBS Sports first reported that Wilson was expected to start against Texas Tech on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET, FOX).