Colorado’s Randon Fontenette is already making an impression in more ways than one.
The former Vanderbilt safety and his Rize Up Foundation teamed up with college football recruiter and NIL manager Mike West on July 2 to help families in Houston, putting together a pop-up grocery giveaway for the Sunnyslope Community. Fontenette handed out 50 shopping bags, with each bag valued at roughly $50.
West said the event came together quickly and left a lasting impact. “To see the smile on so many people's faces and hear the stories of how much it was helping them is truly heartwarming,” White wrote.
“We put this together in less than two days. The next one will be bigger and better.
Stay tuned.”
He also posted: “I want to thank Rize Up Foundation for being such a huge blessing for families yesterday. @randonfontenet3 At our pop up grocery giveaway in the low socioeconomic community Sunnyside we gave out 50 large grocery bags valued at over $50 per bag. To see the smile on so many…”
Fontenette’s work off the field fits the kind of culture Colorado coach Deion Sanders has been pushing as he builds toward 2026. Sanders has made charity part of his own message, including a March 2025 donation of uniforms to youth football players.
“Are there any youth football coaches around the country who need youth uniforms?” Sanders posted on X.
“I have a storage unit full of TRUTH uniforms that are new or barely worn. If you want them, please contact @DeionSandersJr asap with a statement of why your team deserves the blessing."
Sanders’s work with TRUTH has also included other charitable efforts, with the goal of helping student-athletes with education and giving parents better equipment support, according to an interview conducted by NFL Network.
For Colorado, Fontenette’s gesture says plenty about where he fits in the bigger picture. It shows buy-in to Sanders’s approach, and it also points to a player who could grow into a leadership role on a roster that needs it. The Buffaloes struggled with leadership issues in 2025, and the hope is that more voices will surface early in 2026.
Fontenette has already shown he can play. Now he’s showing the kind of character Colorado wants around its program.
In Other News...
Coach Prime Still Has One Massive Colorado Decision To Make
Colorados roster has plenty of new faces and a fresh coaching staff heading into the 2026 season, but the biggest questions are still the old familiar kind: who starts, and where. Deion Sanders and his staff have spent the offseason trying to sort out the pieces after adding talent through transfers, and fall camp is expected to bring the first real answers on several spots that will shape how competitive this team can be.
The uncertainty is especially noticeable on defense and up front, where the Buffaloes still need to settle a second cornerback next to Cree Thomas and find the best five-man combination on the offensive line. Those decisions can quietly define a season, and Colorado is approaching camp with enough options to feel hopeful, but not enough clarity to feel settled. [Read more 🡒]
Jalen Ramsey Just Gave Deion Sanders And Colorado A Huge Endorsement
Jalen Ramseys visit to Colorados leadership retreat gave Deion Sanders another high-profile voice in the room, and it came at a useful time for a program trying to reset the tone after a difficult season. The NFL cornerback spoke to Buffaloes players during the retreat and made clear that Sanders was a major influence on the way he learned to play, which is the kind of endorsement that still carries real weight with a college roster trying to find its edge.
For Colorado, the message mattered because Sanders has already shown he can shape defensive backs into NFL-caliber players, and Ramseys presence only reinforced that reputation. The retreat was designed to build leadership inside the locker room, and hearing from a player of Ramseys stature gave the Buffaloes a reminder of what Sanders can mean beyond the sideline, even if the bigger question for this group is how quickly that message turns into something steadier on the field. [Read more 🡒]
Colorado Is Suddenly Winning A Recruiting Fight Fans Know Well
Colorados 2027 recruiting work is starting to look a lot more like the kind of class that can change the conversation around the program. The Buffaloes are up to No. 35 nationally in the latest 247Sports team rankings, a clear step forward from where the 2026 group finished, and theyve done it with 19 verbal commitments already in the fold. Four of those pledges carry four-star status, a sign that Deion Sanders and his staff are not just filling numbers but landing players with real upside.
The bigger takeaway for Colorado is how often it has been able to stay in the fight for names that matter, even when the process does not go perfectly. The Buffs have taken some hits on the trail, but they have also answered with key commitments that keep the class in the Big 12s upper tier, according to national outlets. The next question is whether this momentum can hold through the rest of the cycle, because the difference between a good class and a program-shifting one is usually decided in the final stretch. [Read more 🡒]