Deion Sanders names unusual Colorado captain, passing over expected leader Julian Lewis after six days of fall camp

Colorado’s fall camp in Colorado Springs is only days into its build, but it already produced a message from Deion Sanders about what leadership should look like. After six days of work, the Buffaloes’ roster was waiting for Sanders to name team captains, with many expecting quarterback Julian Lewis to land the leadership patch as the most visible on-field authority.

Instead, Sanders went in a different direction, awarding the honor to 26-year-old Australian punter Damon Greaves. Yahoo Sports reported the decision as a surprise to fans and players alike, highlighting Sanders’ willingness to distribute leadership based on the daily standards he sees, not simply the roles that get the most attention.

The captaincy switch also came with Sanders explicitly framing it as something more demanding than popularity. In the account of the selection process, Sanders is described using the line “Not a Popularity Contest,” reflecting a theme he has returned to repeatedly in his coaching style: build a team culture where responsibility is earned through conduct and preparation, even for positions that may not dominate highlight reels.

For a quarterback, the captain patch can be read as a report about how a program plans to run its offense. For a punter, it is a report about how a program plans to run itself. Special teams is often treated as secondary until it isn’t, and punters can influence field position and game tempo through consistency and situational awareness. In that sense, Greaves’ selection suggests Sanders wanted a leader who is present at the precise moments that can tilt a game, not just someone whose job is naturally central to the play-by-play.

The immediate consequence is cultural more than tactical. Captaincy tends to carry weight in meetings, in-house expectations, and how younger players learn what is required to stay in the rotation. By choosing Greaves over the quarterback that many viewed as the default pick, Sanders appears to be tightening the connection between effort and recognition, particularly early in a camp that will determine roles before Colorado’s season begins.

What to watch next is whether the leadership message translates into performance and consistency. If Greaves’ captain role is tied to standards he is already meeting, Colorado’s special teams and daily execution should reflect that emphasis. At the same time, Lewis’ response will matter internally, since the decision implies he is expected to lead in other ways. For the program, this is less about who wears the patch and more about whether everyone buys into the same definition of authority as Colorado moves deeper into camp and prepares for games.