Colorado Buffaloes To Host Coveted Transfer Portal Safety

One of the best Group of Five safeties from this past season is set to visit the Colorado Buffaloes this weekend.

After recording nearly 100 total tackles and three interceptions at New Mexico State in 2025, Naeten Mitchell entered the transfer portal on Friday and will next visit Boulder on Saturday, according to On3. Mitchell was the second-highest graded safety (per Pro Football Sports Network) in the Conference USA at 84.0.

Colorado Buffaloes Host Transfer Portal Safety Naeten Mitchell New Mexico State Aggies College Football Deion Sanders Visit — Naeten Mitchell (4) gets ready to tackle the Kennesaw State running back during Saturday's game. | Jaime Guzman/Special to the Sun-News / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Looking closer at Mitchell's breakout 2025 season, the Temple, Texas, native had four games with 10 or more tackles and recorded two interceptions against Missouri State. He also had four forced fumbles, six pass breakups and two sacks for the 4-8 Aggies.

Mitchell, who has two years of eligibility remaining, has yet to announce any portal transfer offers but will likely receive ample Power Four interest.

𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐞 🎬 pic.twitter.com/oTafJpYRWG
— Naeten Mitchell✞ (@NaetenMitchell) January 2, 2026

The lone transfer portal window of the offseason opened Friday and will extend until Jan. 16. Colorado has also been linked to several other defensive players, including Mitchell's former teammate, defensive lineman Ezra Christensen.

Naeten Mitchell's Potential Fit At Colorado

Like every other defensive position group, Colorado is looking to revamp its safety room following the losses of Tawfiq Byard, John Slaughter, TJ Branch and Terrance Love. Coach Deion Sanders and his staff are still early in the rebuilding process, but Mitchell's experience would make him a candidate to start in Colorado's secondary next season.

Class of 2026 signee Braylon Edwards and potentially athlete Alex Edware are set to join the position group alongside returners Carter Stoutmire and Ben Finneseth.

"There's a standard here — if you have a Buffalo on the side of your helmet, the fans, everybody, they don't know if you're a backup or if you're a walk-on or how you got here," defensive coordinator/safeties coach Robert Livingston said. "By God, you're one of the Colorado Buffaloes, so it's your job to go play."

Colorado's secondary struggled this past season, recording only six interceptions and often struggling with penalties. Byard is now in the transfer portal and has already received interest from Texas A&M and Tennessee, per 247Sports.

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Colorado's Early Transfer Portal Targets

Along with Mitchell and Christensen, Colorado has been linked to several other elite defensive players in the portal and a few offensive standouts:

Appalachian State defensive tackle Dylan Manuel
Mercer EDGE Andrew Zock
Western Carolina offensive lineman Manasseh Ripert
Louisiana running back Bill Davis
Louisiana Tech defensive back Michael Richard
Georgia Southern EDGE MJ Stroud
Notre Dame defensive tackle Armel Mukam
Bowling Green linebacker Gideon Lampron
Ohio wide receiver Chase Hendricks

Including a few walk-ons, "Coach Prime" has so far lost 30 players to the transfer portal. Most of those losses are on the defensive side of the ball, making Colorado an intriguing destination for defensive backs, linebackers and defensive linemen.