The numbers around Lamont Lester Jr. are hard to ignore. Six weeks into the season, the Colorado defensive lineman has put himself in the national conversation with a 91.2 Pro Football Focus defensive grade and a 92.1 pass-rush grade, a ridiculous return for a transfer who arrived from Monmouth, an FCS program in New Jersey.
Lester has produced those marks in four games, and the production jumps off the page even before you get to the grades. He leads the Big 12 with four sacks, ranks fourth in the conference with 15 quarterback pressures, and has added six tackles for loss. He missed Colorado’s 29-7 loss to Texas Tech with an ankle injury, but the damage he did before that was enough to turn heads well beyond Boulder.
There is one catch: the bulk of that destruction came before conference play started. Three of his sacks came in the opener, and all four came before Big 12 action began. That makes this weekend against Utah the next real checkpoint, if his ankle lets him go.
Colorado didn’t land Lester because he came with the biggest name or the loudest recruiting profile. The 6-2, 230-pound Jersey City native, who played at Don Bosco Prep, came off a Monmouth season in which he recorded 9.5 sacks and 11.5 tackles for loss and won CAA Defensive Rookie of the Year.
Plenty of schools could have looked at his size and the level he came from and hesitated. Colorado didn’t.
Instead, he announced himself immediately. In his debut at Georgia Tech, he piled up three sacks, all of them on third down, in Colorado’s 14-13 win and picked up Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week honors.
That night also became a clean example of why Deion Sanders is willing to bet on smaller-school talent.
“A lot of these guys are great players where they came from. That’s why we got them,” Sanders said after the win in Atlanta.
He made the point even more bluntly.
“I don’t give a darn who’s out there on the other side. Football’s football,” Sanders said.
Lester said the spotlight came quickly after that Georgia Tech game, with a wave of messages and new followers following him. His answer to all of it has been to keep the noise out.
“Something I go by is ‘no rat poison,’ meaning don’t let the internet or stuff like that get to your head,” Lester said during a September media availability. “Always stay levelheaded and just go to work.”
He also pointed to Colorado defensive coordinator Chris Marve as a major part of how he plays.
“The mindset for the whole defense, not just the D-line, is something we preach every day,” Lester said. “Coach Marve does a good job. It’s violence and aggression, playing fast, physical, smart and relentless effort.”
Colorado has gotten production elsewhere up front, too. Defensive end Toby Anene had a sack against Texas Tech, and defensive tackle Santana Hopper entered the bye with 16 quarterback pressures, one more than Lester. If Lester is available again, the Buffaloes can threaten quarterbacks from multiple spots.
That’s what makes his status so important heading into No. 11 Utah’s visit to Folsom Field this weekend. Colorado’s bye gave its sack leader extra time to recover, but his availability is still up in the air.
Utah brings its own pressure points. The Utes beat Kansas 41-24 on Saturday behind 287 rushing yards, three passing touchdowns and another score on the ground from Devon Dampier.
Wayshawn Parker added a 90-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Kansas did manage three sacks and forced a first-quarter fumble from Dampier, which offers Colorado a template of sorts.
The problem is that Utah can also punish overaggression. If Colorado rushes too recklessly, Dampier and Parker can turn that into something much bigger.
Lester has already shown he can finish drives on third down. Against Utah, Colorado may need him to strike before the Utes even get there.
In Other News...
Utahs Passing Attack Just Got More Dangerous After One Breakthrough Night
Utahs offense has leaned into sharing the load this season, with quarterback Devon Dampier helping drive a two-quarterback setup that also features Byrd Ficklin. In the win over Kansas, Ficklin filled multiple roles and the Utes kept showing the kind of unselfish approach coach Morgan Scalley has praised all year, one that has made the group harder to defend as the season has worn on.
The passing game found another gear in that one, too, as receiver Ricky Johnson, the Mississippi State transfer, delivered a career night and gave Utah a new threat on the outside. His emergence mattered not just because it added explosive plays, but because it suggested the Utes may have found another reliable piece in a passing attack that already looks more dangerous when everyone is willing to share the spotlight. [Read more 🡒]
Utah Just Got An Important O-Line Boost Before Colorado
Utahs offensive line has been one of the quiet success stories of the season, even after losing all five starters from a year ago. That group earned a little extra recognition this week when it was named the Big 12s Beef of the Week after helping power a strong offensive showing in the win over Kansas, a sign that the Utes rebuild up front is holding up better than expected.
Now theres another encouraging sign heading into Colorado, with Isaiah Garcia back practicing after missing the last two games because of an injury. Garcia has been a key rotational piece for Utah, and his return gives the Utes a little more flexibility and depth on an offensive front that has already had to prove it can absorb change and keep moving. [Read more 🡒]
Colorado Gets A Harsh Reality Check With Utah Coming To Boulder
Colorados trip into a Big 12 matchup with Utah at Folsom Field comes with the sort of odd tension that only midseason college football can create: one team trying to steady itself after a quarterback change, the other still unbeaten and carrying the look of a group that has handled business all fall. Utah arrives at 5-0, while Colorado sits at 2-3 and searching for traction after recent roster movement under center.
The matchup also reflects just how differently these two programs have been moving. The betting market has made clear where the confidence sits, but the more interesting part for Utah is whether its offense can keep translating a strong start into another convincing road performance in a conference game that Colorado badly needs to make competitive. If the Utes bring the same pace and control they have shown recently, the Buffaloes will need more than a change at quarterback to keep this one from getting away early. [Read more 🡒]