Deion Sanders, Colorado Buffaloes Hosting Transfer Portal Standout From Missouri Tigers

The Colorado Buffaloes are hosting former Missouri Tigers defensive end Jahkai Lang on an official visit this weekend in hopes of landing their third transfer portal prospect this spring. Lang was a sack artist in limited action as a freshman at Missouri.

Oct 12, 2024; Amherst, Massachusetts, USA; Missouri Tigers defensive end Jahkai Lang (52) in action against the Massachusetts Minutemen during the second half at Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium. / Eric Canha-Imagn Images

Spring transfer portal season is in full swing, and coach Deion Sanders has pushed the Colorado Buffaloes' pendulum with Herculean strength.

The Buffs landed 19 transfers in last year's window and already have two key commits this spring in offensive lineman Xavier Hill and wide receiver Sincere Brown. Colorado has its next target in defensive end Jahkai Lang.

According to Pete Nakos of On3, Lang is expected to be one of many portal-bound players to visit Boulder this Saturday for Colorado's spring game, The weekend is anticipated to be a frenzy of transfers for those both departing and joining the black and gold.

While the Buffaloes already have depth along their defensive line, Lang stood out in limited snaps as a redshirt freshman with the Missouri Tigers in 2024 and would instantly insert himself into the starting mix. In 12 games, he was second on the team with three sacks and tallied 14 tackles. He has three seasons of eligibility remaining.

Sep 7, 2024; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Buffalo Bulls quarterback C.J. Ogbonna (7) is sacked by Missouri Tigers defensive end Jahkai Lang (52) during the second half at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. / Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Before he visits Boulder on Thursday, the SMU Mustangs will host Lang on an official visit.

Lang was a three-star prospect out of Troy Buchanan High School (Troy, Missouri) in the class of 2023 and chose Missouri over the Tennessee Volunteers, Michigan State Spartans, Arkansas Razorbacks and 15 others. Colorado was among Lang's original offers back in 2021.

Lang displayed admirable two-way versatility in high school, occasionally positioning on the inside of the defensive line while doubling as an offensive lineman. He's put on 17 pounds since arriving with the Tigers, being listed at 6-3, 252 pounds.

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With Missouri, Lang crossed paths with one of Colorado's most talented edge rushers, Arden Walker. Last week, Walker took to social media to recruit the youngster.

"I think it's time to be teammates again," Walker said via X.

I think it’s time to be teammates again @Jahkai0 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️

— Arden Walker 🎉 (@walker_arden) April 9, 2025

With the defensive end room already loaded with talent and experience, Lang coming in would only add to the fierce competition in new defensive line coach Domata Peko's unit. Walker could act as a mentor with the shared history in Missouri and guide Lang along in his new environment.

If nothing else, the potential addition of Lang could ratchet up pressure on Colorado's more inexperienced edge rushers, namely Brandon Davis-Swain, Quency Wiggins, London Merritt and Alexander McPherson, to stand out in spring practice.

Lang is an outstandingly physical point-of-attack edge rusher with a mixed bag of tricks to fool opposing offensive linemen. He utilized the "bull rush" technique on several big plays in 2024, taking a battering ram straight ahead to gain leverage and get to the quarterback.

Mizzou Transfer EDGE Jahkai Lang

Has great size, gets good bend of the edge, fluid pass rusher, likes to utilize bull rush power to collapse the pocket.

Made the most of his limited opportunities (2nd on the team in sacks) @Jahkai0

Bring em home @walker_arden 🦬 pic.twitter.com/k6DReDxXxQ

— GUCCE🦬🐦‍⬛ (@gucceCU) April 9, 2025

While his weight could be a concern against more seasoned Big 12 tackles, Lang has plenty of time left in college to grow muscle and improve technique. He would join a rag-tag yet successful unit that led the Big 12 in sacks last season and includes Samuel Okunlola, Taje McCoy and Keaten Wade along with his former teammate Walker.

The Buffs are keeping busy throughout the spring, on the hunt for defensive depth while questions swirl around a new-look offense. Defensive coordinator Robert Livingston's group likely needs to replicate its success from last season for Colorado to repeat its Big 12 contender status in 2025.

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