Deion Sanders locked down his replacement at quarterback next season, making it clear he has no intentions of leaving Boulder.

Despite his sons and Travis Hunter departing Boulder following the 2024 season, Deion Sanders does have a few reasons to stay at Colorado. And he just locked down one more.

Sanders nabbed a verbal commitment from 5-star quarterback Julian Lewis. He committed on the Pat McAfee show on Thursday afternoon, and it’s the insurance plan the Buffaloes needed to keep Sanders in Boulder.

🚨BREAKING🚨 Elite QB Julian Lewis has committed to Colorado🦬

Lewis decommitted from USC on Sunday.

Read: https://t.co/IEKCRWUi0r pic.twitter.com/CTpZ8nWG0d

— On3 Recruits (@On3Recruits) November 21, 2024

There was a lot of speculation about what Sanders would do.

Shedeur is going to be a top-five pick in the upcoming NFL Draft, Travis Hunter should be drafted just before him, and there were talks of Sanders even following his son to the NFL.

Even the desperate Dallas Cowboys fans colluded to stir up rumors of Sanders coming home. At least for the time being, that doesn’t seem likely. Lewis’ commitment all but locks Sanders in for the next couple of years.

Julian Lewis commitment should silence any Deion Sanders rumors about leaving Colorado

Before Lewis’ commitment, it wouldn’t have been reckless to see Deion Sanders leave Colorado for the NFL.

For one, he’s taken his sons with him when he went from Jackson State to Colorado, so naturally, it would make sense to join the same NFL staff too, if possible.

He spent just three seasons at Jackson State, and this is his second season at Colorado, so staying somewhere long term hasn’t necessarily been his strong suit either.

But Colorado locking down Julian Lewis makes it pretty clear that Sanders is planning on coming back to Boulder to continue building and transforming the Buffaloes into a respectable team in a disrespected conference.

The Buffaloes move up to No. 16 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings and are in the driver’s seat of their Big 12 conference title game destiny. They’d almost certainly need to win the title game to get into the CFP.

When asked about the rumors about him leaving, he said he’s happy where he is and has a kickstand down. Locking down one of the country’s top recruits backs that up.

And if Lewis even looks half as good as Shedeur has looked this season, he’ll have no reason to leave any time soon.

Unfortunately for Dallas fans, you don’t get the homecoming you were hoping for as the Cowboys search for answers.

As for Colorado fans, you don’t have to worry about what the future looks like, Deion Sanders is making it clear he’s not going anywhere and putting the program in a position to continue to be great.