Colorado Buffaloes Aiming To Flip Louisville Cardinals Running Back Recruit

At running back, the Colorado Buffaloes need all hands on deck.

Coach Deion Sanders has continued his push for talented tailback recruits, even if their allegiance lies elsewhere.

On Saturday, IMG Academy running back Lekhy Thompkins announced that he had received an official offer from the Colorado Buffaloes.

Jul 9, 2025; Frisco, TX, USA; Colorado head coach Deion Sanders speaks with the media during 2025 Big 12 Football Media Days at The Star. | Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

Thompkins has been committed to the Louisville Cardinals since May, but his recruitment appears far from shut down. The Miami Hurricanes awarded Thompkins his highest-profile offer in July. Late last spring, the running back held official visits with the Mississippi State Bulldogs and Purdue Boilermakers.

Other Power Four schools to offer Thompkins include the West Virginia Mountaineers, Virginia Tech Hokies, Maryland Terrapins and Minnesota Golden Gophers.

247Sports lists Thompkins as the No. 61 running back and No. 101 Florida prospect of the 2026 graduating class, though his origins lie in Jackson, Tennessee.

Listed at 6-1 and 235 pounds, the three-star boasts a strong frame likely to translate in college.

This season is Thompkin's first with IMG Academy after transferring from Trinity Christian Academy in Jackson. In preseason action, the senior logged 20 carries for 117 yards and three touchdowns.

At Trinity Christian, Thompkins doubled as a versatile defender. His time in the backfield was dominant, compiling 643 carries for 3823 yards and 51 rushing touchdowns over three years.

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He was a weapon through the air as well, collecting 47 receptions for 661 yards and seven receiving touchdowns.

Defensively, Thompkins collected 45 tackles (10.5 for loss), four quarterback hits, three pass breakups and two sacks as a junior. However, his focus has shifted to running back at IMG, one of the nation's premier athletic preparatory institutions.

Thompkins isn't afraid of on-field contact but has taken part in non-contact action. The three-sport athlete participated in basketball and track while attending Trinity Christian.

With Louisville, he plans on staying closer to home, but that doesn't mean his time at IMG won't change things. The Buffaloes have a growing history of attracting IMG talent throughout the "Coach Prime" era, including five-star tackle Jordan Seaton and three-star defensive lineman Alexander McPherson.

IMG's Jordan Seaton (77) protects his quarterback against a Lipscomb defender at Lipscomb's Reese Smith Football Field in Nashville, Tenn., Friday night, Aug. 18, 2023. IMG went on to win the game 35-10. | Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK

Four-star defensive end London Merritt flipped his commitment from the Ohio State Buckeyes to Colorado while at IMG, becoming one of the Buffaloes' marquee prospects landed this past offseason.

Now, Sanders aims to have Thompkins join this group. The Buffs are in dire need of a leader at running back, but an experience like IMG provides could fan the flames of a recruiting war.

The Buffaloes, Cardinals, Hurricanes and others will duke it out for Thompkins and his bell-cow abilities. His wealth of carries throughout high school may differ at a school like Colorado, where running back by committee is the usual strategy, but Sanders's potential NFL development may prove more attractive than at Louisville.

Colorado's running back room has a vital year in store. Dallan Hayden, Micah Welch and Dekalon Taylor aim to lead a room that has had feeble production or consistency over the last two seasons. A player of Thompkin's caliber could breathe life into a group coached by Pro Football Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk.