FOUNTAIN - Gideon Lampron already has a name that grabs attention. Now he’s trying to do the same thing on the field for Colorado.
Gideon ESPN Lampron arrives in Boulder as one of the transfer linebackers expected to help reshape CU’s defense, bringing a reputation for production and a no-nonsense style that fits the way he describes himself: a Midwest kid who still sees football as football, no matter the setting.
“The goal was always to play versus the best competition that you can possibly get to,” Lampron said. “Coming to Colorado gave me the opportunity.
The Big 12 is great football. Obviously, I’ve only been in Ohio my whole life.
So coming and living by mountains was definitely interesting to me. It was just an opportunity I couldn’t turn down.”
Lampron’s path to CU took him from LaGrange, Ohio, to Dayton and then Bowling Green, where he kept piling up impact plays. At Dayton, he was a first team FCS All-American in 2024 after helping lead a Flyers defense that allowed an FCS-low 242.9 yards per game. After transferring to Bowling Green, he kept his edge, becoming the only player in the nation to finish the regular season with at least 100 tackles and 15 tackles for loss.
A flight turned into a recruiting break for Colorado. A chance meeting with head coach Deion Sanders on a shared plane eventually led to Lampron landing with the Buffs.
Now he’s in the middle of his first preseason with Colorado, which spent its opening week training at Fountain-Fort Carson High School. New defensive coordinator Chris Marve said the early focus is building the identity of the unit.
“I think they’re communicating really well. They’re playing together,” Marve said.
“We preach a lot about violence and aggression. Relentless effort.
I think that’s been pretty visible.”
Lampron is part of a linebacker group that also includes former Texas linebacker Liona Lefau and former New Mexico State linebacker Tyler Martinez. Lefau played 42 games for the Longhorns and started 12 last season. Martinez’s last year at New Mexico State was cut short by injury, but he still earned second team All-Conference USA honors.
The exact roles are still coming into focus, but Marve made it clear the three additions are expected to factor in.
“They’re (all) going to play. I’ll leave it at that.”
For Lampron, even the name that follows him everywhere has become part of the story. His father, an avid sports fan, wrote “ESPN” into the birth certificate, giving him a label that stands out and is likely to come up often on Colorado broadcasts.
But Lampron is more interested in building a different kind of recognition now.
“Coming to camp, it’s still just football. Just different colors,” Lampron said.
“A hundred percent, the stakes are higher for all of us here, especially coming to turn around what happened last year. I can speak probably for the transfers, it does feel slightly different coming in under these circumstances.”
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