Time keeps marching on. And quietly, away from the spotlight, Ryan Staub keeps putting in the work.
Staub, a third-year sophomore quarterback, has grown into a college football anomaly with the Colorado Buffaloes. In an era in which school loyalty has become passe amid the pursuit of playing time and NIL/revenue sharing bucks, Staub is charting an old school course.
Staub spent his rookie season of 2023, CU’s first under Deion Sanders, backing up the coach’s son, Shedeur Sanders. Staub returned to Boulder to do it again last year as Shedeur rewrote the CU record book. And again this offseason, with five-star recruit JuJu Lewis and an established starter in Liberty transfer Kaidon Salter on the way, Staub didn’t falter in his dedication to the black and gold.
This preseason, while Salter and Lewis battle for the leading role going into the Aug. 29 season opener at home against Georgia Tech, Staub once again is putting in the work with only an outside chance at best of hearing his name called. It’s a mindset that continues to impress his teammates and coaches alike.
“We had a discussion in the offseason, he said, ‘Coach Pat, I love it here. I feel like I’m learning something new every day,’” CU offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur said. “And he said, ‘I just want to keep rolling with this.’ That’s unique now. For him to feel that way, I think we should feel blessed that he’s here.”
Staub getting meaningful minutes would probably mean the Buffs have endured a rash of injuries, or perhaps if it’s deemed the youthful Lewis isn’t quite ready to take full control of the offense. Yet if any of those scenarios do play out, the 6-foot-1, 200-pound Staub might project an air of confidence beyond that of most third-string quarterbacks.
“I’d say my role is just to be the best teammate I can be,” Staub said. “Help these guys grow, help the room grow as a whole. I think the team moves as our room does and, shoot, my rule is just to be ready. If my number’s called, I’m gonna go out there and be ready.”
Staub has appeared in just seven games during his past two seasons, but he acquitted himself impressively on the lone occasion he was called upon to start. In the 2023 season finale, the only game missed by Shedeur Sanders during his two seasons at CU, Staub made a spot start in a tough environment at Utah and looked the part, going 17-for-24 for 195 yards and connecting with Travis Hunter for what remains his only career touchdown pass.
Staub was just 0-for-4 in his four brief appearances (20 snaps) last season. He almost assuredly could have hit the transfer portal to find a place where he might have a more realistic chance of competing for a starting job. Instead, his willingness to put the team first, and even play a mentorship role with Lewis, has turned Staub into one of the Buffs’ unsung leaders.
“Don’t underestimate Staub and what he brings to the table and what he brings to the room,” head coach Deion Sanders said during CU’s fall sports media day. “Because he’s been in that room for the last couple of years. So he’s seen some things that has had consistency in what we want to desire, and what he means to that room is phenomenal, just being that older guy, that veteran, that understands how we want things with (Salter and Lewis). So he’s a tremendous asset to that room as well.”
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