Colorado Locks in Transfer Visit With Division II Standout

The Colorado Buffaloes are scheduled to host a defensive tackle transfer as they look to bolster their pass rush.

Oct 11, 2025; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders during the first quarter against the Iowa State Cyclones at Folsom Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Coach Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes have been at work this offseason to rebuild the defensive line. While those efforts have been shaky at times, they have attracted interest from a man who certainly looks the part of a Big 12 defensive tackle.

On Monday, the Buffaloes scheduled a visit with former Central Missouri defensive tackle Jaylen Harris.

Defensive Tackle Jaylen Harris' Background

Apr 11, 2026; Boulder, CO, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders greets players before the start of the spring game at Folsom Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Central Missouri is a Division II school, so he has flown under the radar for much of his college career. But after a dominant two seasons with the Mules, he’s received major FBS attention.

He’s received attention from Kent State, Arkansas State, UMass and now, Colorado. He’s already taken a recruiting visit to Jonesboro, Arkansas, to visit the Red Wolves.

This attention comes with good reason, though, as Harris stands 6-3, 315 pounds and had good production in his two campaigns at Central Missouri.

Mar 29, 2014; Evansville, IN, USA; Karson Weymuth watches the Central Missouri Mules warm up before the first half against the West Liberty Hilltoppers at Ford Center. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images | Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images

Harris redshirted in 2024, only seeing action in three games and recording one tackle, but he took a step up as a redshirt freshman. He was a bona fide run stopper, recording 30 total tackles, six of which went unassisted, two tackles for loss, a sack and a kick block.

He’s taken his time in the transfer portal, having had his name in the hat since Feb. 26. He’s spent this time looking for the right opportunity, and it appears it may have arrived. Colorado is his first Power Four visit he’s had in his two-month search.

What Would Jaylen Harris’s Commitment Mean for Colorado? 

Apr 11, 2026; Boulder, CO, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders before the start of the spring game at Folsom Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Adding Harris would mean a lot to the Buffaloes, as the interior of their defensive line has been thin throughout the spring season. They currently have nine players listed as interior defensive linemen, but three of them are underclassmen, only two of them weigh over 300 pounds and one of them is a converted edge rusher in Quency Wiggins. It’s been a thrown-together group that has been Colorado’s primary headscratcher thus far.

Adding Harris would provide a true defensive tackle that the Buffaloes have very few of. Colorado’s new defensive line coach, Dante Carter, spoke about using the spring season as an evaluation period to determine how they will use this unique room during his spring media availability.

“That’s exactly what it is,” Carter said. “You’ve got guys coming from all over, who’ve learned different techniques from different coaches that we might not do here … We’ve just been evaluating, seeing what everybody can do, finding out what their strengths and weaknesses are, and now we have a good game plan for when the fall comes and how we’re going to use each and every body in that room.”

In that same press conference, he alluded to adding to that room throughout the summer, and Harris could very well be part of that plan.

The main reason the Buffaloes need Harris in that room is his run-stopping ability. The Buffaloes allowed 222.5 rushing yards per game in 2025, the most in the Big 12 by 25.3. Colorado has struggled to stop the run as a whole during Coach Prime’s tenure, as it finished second-to-last in its final season in the Pac-12 during Sanders’s first season.

While no date has been announced yet for Harris’s visit, it will be one of Colorado’s more important ones during the early portion of the summer.

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