Colorado added six more names to the national preseason watch-list circuit this week, with Julian Lewis, Liona Lefau, Vili Taufatofua, Tyler Martinez, Quentin Gibson and Joseph Williams all earning recognition ahead of the 2026 season.
Lewis landed on the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award watch list, the “Hot 37,” while Lefau and Taufatofua were included on the Polynesian College Football Player of the Year watch list. Martinez made the Hispanic College Football Player of the Year watch list, and Gibson and Williams were both named to the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award watch list.
For Colorado, the latest round of honors keeps building a preseason profile that already has some familiar award history attached to it. The Buffs have had six previous Polynesian Award nominations, with Sefo Liufau winning in 2016. They also have 11 Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award nominations since 2013, and Shedeur Sanders was a finalist in 2024.
Lefau arrives in Boulder after three seasons at Texas, where the fourth-year linebacker from Kahuku, Hawai'i, played in 42 games and piled up 139 tackles, eight tackles for loss, six pass breakups, three sacks, one interception, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. He came out of the portal as a four-star transfer prospect, ranked No. 126 overall and No. 7 among linebackers.
Taufatofua brings a different kind of résumé. The fifth-year defensive lineman from Auckland, New Zealand, spent time at New Mexico Military Institute, Utah and San Jose State before coming to Colorado.
In 2025 at San Jose State, he started all 11 games and finished with 34 tackles, seven tackles for loss, three sacks, two forced fumbles and one pass breakup. He entered the portal rated No. 855 overall and No. 97 as an edge rusher.
Martinez is a first for Colorado in another way. He is the program’s first player nominated for the Hispanic College Football Player of the Year award.
The fifth-year linebacker from Albuquerque, N.M., previously played at New Mexico Military Institute and New Mexico State, where he started the first four games of the 2025 season before an injury ended his year. Across two seasons there, he posted 27 tackles, four pass breakups, one tackle for loss, one interception and one forced fumble.
He was rated a three-star transfer, the No. 1,302 overall player and No. 100 linebacker by 247Sports.
The Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award watch list includes two Buffs receivers with Texas roots. Gibson, a second-year wideout from Fort Worth, Texas, came to Colorado from North Crowley High School and appeared in all 12 games last season with two starts.
He opened the year against Georgia Tech as the only true freshman starter in that game and the fourth true freshman to start a season opener in Colorado history. He also picked up FWAA Special Teams Freshman of the Year honors and was named a Freshman All-American as a kick returner.
Williams, a third-year receiver from Arlington, Texas, started his college career at Tulsa. As a freshman in 2024, he played in all 12 games with five starts and caught 30 passes for 588 yards and five touchdowns, averaging 19.6 yards per reception.
He entered the portal ranked No. 286 overall and No. 58 among wide receivers by 247Sports. In his first season at Colorado in 2025, he played in 10 games with six starts and finished with 37 catches for 489 yards and four touchdowns.
Lewis’ path to the Shaun Alexander watch list comes after a freshman season that already put him in the record book. The second-year quarterback from Carrollton, Ga., played in four games in 2025 and started twice, making his first collegiate start at West Virginia and becoming the ninth true freshman to start at quarterback in CU history. He completed 52 of 94 passes for 589 yards and four touchdowns.
Before arriving in Boulder, Lewis put together a huge high school career at Carrollton High School. He started every game over three seasons, completed 736 of 1,065 passes for 11,010 yards, and finished seventh all-time in Georgia history in passing yards despite playing only three seasons. He was named Gatorade Georgia Football Player of the Year in 2023 and 2024, and ESPN rated him a five-star recruit and a unanimous top-10 quarterback in the class of 2025.
In Other News...
Colorado Is Betting Big On A Louder Folsom Field Edge
Colorado is leaning further into the idea that Folsom Field should feel like more than just a stadium on fall Saturdays. The University of Colorado Athletics announced a new batch of in-game fan experiences, including live music from local bands, a new in-game host in Gianna Girardi and upgraded video board displays, all aimed at making the home atmosphere louder and more layered for Buffaloes fans.
The changes also reach beyond the seating bowl, with a pregame street party called Ralphies Road set to bring food trucks, a giant TV, a DJ and interactive games into the mix. Colorado opens its 2026 season at Georgia Tech before coming back to Boulder, where the program will find out how much these additions can help turn Folsom Field into the kind of edge the Buffaloes want every week. [Read more 🡒]
Colorado Suddenly Faces Two Painful Roster Questions After Eligibility Blow
Colorados roster picture took an unexpected hit when transfer defensive lineman Ezra Christensen was denied a preliminary injunction that would have cleared him for the 2026 season, effectively ending his college football career. The ruling leaves another hole in a unit that Colorado has had to keep adjusting, and it adds a personal layer too, with former teammate Tyler Martinez publicly showing support and reacting to the news alongside him.
Deion Sanders also addressed the situation, but the broader concern now stretches beyond one player and into the teams overall depth chart planning. With Christensen out of the equation, Colorado has to keep sorting through other roster issues as well, including potential competition among its kickers, a reminder that even one legal setback can ripple through several parts of a team at once. [Read more 🡒]
Colorados Restored Receiver Group Faces One Big Opener Concern
Kam Perry and Danny Scudero are back on the field for Colorado, working in a non-contact capacity as the Buffaloes continue to prepare for the 2026 season opener. Their return is a welcome development for a receiver room that has already dealt with injuries to key pieces, and it gives Deion Sanders offense a chance to regain some much-needed depth before the games start counting.
The timing also matters because Colorado is turning to new offensive coordinator Brennan Marion, whose system should benefit from having more options available on the perimeter. Sanders had already said both receivers would be back in time for the opener, and while their presence at practice is encouraging, the bigger question now is how quickly they can be fully integrated once the full-speed work begins. [Read more 🡒]