Kaidon Salter already had a starting job. In fact, he excelled in that role at Liberty over the past two seasons, even earning Conference USA MVP honors in 2023.

Coming to Colorado offered a new challenge, however, for the senior quarterback.

“It was the best fit for me, and having the staff that they have here, everybody’s been to where I’m trying to get to,” Salter said as the Buffs opened spring practices this week. “Pat Shurmur, he’s one of the best offense coordinators, one of the best quarterback coaches in the country.”

Salter didn’t come to CU with a guaranteed starting job but is competing with five-star recruit Julian Lewis and third-year sophomore Ryan Staub. One of them will take over for Shedeur Sanders, who set numerous CU records the past two years and is now preparing for the NFL Draft.

“The amount of passing yards Shedeur put up last year, and his completion rate and all his achievements are something that I love and most definitely led me to coming here,” said Salter, by far the most experienced quarterback in the room at CU.

In his four years at Liberty, Salter started 29 games. The Flames went 21-4 the last two years when Salter started, as he threw for 5,887 yards, 56 touchdowns and 17 interceptions while also rushing for 2,063 yards and 21 touchdowns.

During the 2023 season, Salter led Liberty to a 13-0 regular season and conference title, throwing for 2,876 yards and 32 touchdowns while rushing for 1,089 yards and 12 scores.

“I have seen a lot and been through a lot with coaching changes and just my overall journey as a college athlete,” he said. “I feel like just me getting closer to God has brought me to where I am now. And, just being able to believe and do everything in the right way and try to be the best person for myself and for my team.”

While Salter was attracted to CU in part because of the numbers Sanders posted, he is a different type of player.

Sanders set an FBS career record for his 71.8% completion rate during his two seasons at CU, while Salter has completed 58.7% of his passes.

Salter brings a different element to the table, though, with his ability to run. Sanders has the ability to use his feet to scramble but finished his career with 29 rushing yards on 399 attempts. (He had minus-127 yards on 211 carries in his two seasons at CU, as he was sacked 94 times).

Salter has often used his feet on designed runs and has averaged 5.9 yards per carry in his career.

“I’m sure that it’ll still be displayed,” Salter said of his running ability. “But mostly here I came to throw the ball. Of course, I’m going to use my legs when I have to, and of course with coach knowing that I can run there’s gonna be a few run plays in there for me that I have to take down and run.

“Everybody knows, I have no problem with running, and it’s something that a lot of teams won’t be able to stop whenever they do throw me out there to do those type of things. But I came here to throw the ball. We’ve got a lot of electric receivers here.”

Salter hopes he has the opportunity to be the one throwing to those receivers, as he looks to make the most of his final season in college football.

“This is my first spring here and last spring overall, so just coming in, I just want to be a leader,” he said. “I just wanted to come in and execute the plays that I know and understand, be a better teammate to my teammates — just helping out some of the younger guys. … Overall, just coming out, executing, completing passes, and doing everything that coach want us to do.”