Marshall Faulk Leaves Colorado as Buffs Face More Changes

Marshall Faulk is moving on from Colorado after just one season, and the timing couldn’t be tougher for Deion Sanders. The Hall of Fame running back is leaving Boulder to become the next head coach at Southern University, taking his first big step into the world of college coaching.

The news came out on November 27 when insider Jordan Schultz shared that Marshall Faulk agreed to a three-year contract with an extra one-year option. Southern officials even traveled to Boulder to meet with him in person before making the deal final. The school is expected to officially announce the hire on Monday. This ends a long and messy coaching search for Southern, which has gone through four head coaches since 2020.

Southern had to make a change after firing Terrence Graves on October 20. A tough 24–3 loss to Prairie View pushed the team to a 1–6 record. Since then, co-offensive coordinator Fred McNair has been running the team as interim head coach. The Jaguars have one game left — the Bayou Classic against rival Grambling State — but Marshall Faulk won’t coach in that matchup.

For Colorado, this coaching exit comes at a bad moment. The Buffs already had a rough year, finishing 3–8, and now Sanders needs to hire a new running backs coach for the second offseason in a row. Even though Colorado’s rushing numbers weren’t great, the team still improved to 123.3 rushing yards per game, ranking 107th in the country — better than the last two years.

Marshall Faulk’s move continues a growing trend in HBCU football. Since Sanders took over at Jackson State in 2020, more former NFL stars have taken coaching jobs at HBCUs. Eddie George at Tennessee State, Ed Reed at Bethune-Cookman, and even Michael Vick and DeSean Jackson in assistant roles have all followed this path. Now, Marshall Faulk joins that group.

Colorado also received big news this week when freshman quarterback Julian Lewis decided to redshirt. NCAA rules let players appear in up to four games and still save a year of eligibility. Lewis played exactly four, so this was the perfect time. Sanders said he made the decision because he wants what’s “best for the kid.”

Lewis showed promise in his limited action. He threw for 589 yards, four touchdowns, no interceptions, and completed 55.3% of his passes. Even though he’s young, many people around the program believe he could be the key to Colorado winning more games next season. The only concern? Like any young star today, there’s always the chance he could enter the transfer portal.

With a key coach leaving and their top young QB redshirting, Colorado heads into the offseason with even more questions. Deion Sanders has a lot to sort out.

Also Read: Nebraska Looks at New QBs as Dylan Raiola Rumors Grow