Deion Sanders didn’t need much time after Colorado’s win at Georgia Tech to make his point about the transfer portal. The Buffaloes coach has no patience for the idea that production only counts if it comes from a Power Four résumé, and Lamont Lester Jr. gave him a perfect example.
“A lot of these guys are great players where they came from, that’s why we got them. And you guys, just because a guy played at a smaller school, you don’t give him the credit that he deserves sometimes,” Sanders said.
“Football is football to me. I don’t give a darn who’s out there on the other side.
You could watch film and say that guy could play. I don’t care who he’s playing against.
I don’t care if it’s the SEC, ACC or what C.”
Lester backed up that view in a big way in his Colorado debut. The 6-2, 230-pound defensive lineman came to Boulder from Monmouth after two seasons in the CAA, and he arrived with real numbers behind him: 9.5 sacks and 11.5 tackles for loss in 2025. Colorado beat out Wisconsin and Wake Forest, among others, before landing the Jersey City, New Jersey, native in January.
Against Georgia Tech, Lester looked like he belonged from the start. He finished with three sacks, 3.5 tackles for loss and five total tackles. Every sack came on third down and ended a Georgia Tech drive with a punt.
That kind of debut jumps off the page even more when you stack it against Colorado’s recent production. The Buffaloes had 13 sacks all of 2025, and Keaten Wade and Arden Walker led the team with 2.5 each.
The performance earned Lester national recognition on Wednesday, when he was named the Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week. He had already shared Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week honors, and Colorado’s front was also selected as the conference’s Defensive Line of the Week.
Sanders pointed beyond Lester, too, noting the impact of the rest of the group Colorado brought in. Georgia Tech quarterback Alberto Mendoza threw for 237 yards, but he also finished with minus-22 rushing yards after taking three sacks.
“Those guys that we grabbed, the linebackers did a phenomenal job as well,” Sanders said. “I think we rotated three of them and they stood the test.”
That linebacker group included Gideon Lampron, who came over from Bowling Green after piling up 119 tackles and earning first-team All-MAC honors in 2025. Tyler Martinez transferred from New Mexico State, and Liona Lefau arrived from Texas. All three played in Chris Marve’s defense against Georgia Tech.
Colorado also got help from another FCS newcomer in defensive end Toby Anene, who transferred from North Dakota State. He had 8.5 tackles for loss and seven sacks in 13 starts last season, then opened his Colorado career with five tackles and two quarterback hurries. Georgia Tech was held to 51 rushing yards, its lowest total since 2022.
The early results matched the way Colorado rebuilt its front after losing 2025 sack leaders Wade and Walker. The Buffaloes went into the portal for help and found it, with Lester and Anene among the players who gave Sanders reason to trust production from outside the Power Four.
Lester said the leap from the FCS to the Big 12 didn’t overwhelm him because he had already trained for a different kind of battle.
“I actually wrestled so I can be better at football. That’s how I took it as,” Lester said.
“I also took it as a challenge because wrestling is different from a lot of other sports. A guy could be smaller than you and he can still whip your butt.”
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Georgia Tech Faces A Brutal Reality Heading Into Tennessee Test
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