Deion Sanders Provides Rare Insight on Meeting Colorado’s Gideon Lampron

The Colorado Buffaloes landed linebacker Gideon Lampron in the transfer portal this offseason. Lampron was rated as a three-star transfer and played for the Bowling Green Falcons in 2025.

Colorado coach Deion Sanders spoke at Big 12 media days about how he first met Lampron.

How Deion Sanders Met Gideon Lampron

deion sanders coach prime big 12 colorado buffaloes gideon lampron transfer portal linebacker bowling green falcons dayton — Jul 7, 2026; Frisco, TX, USA; Colorado head coach Deion Sanders speaks to reporters during Big 12 Conference Football Media Days at The Star. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Sanders revealed during a Big 12 media segment that Lampron approached him on a plane, telling Sanders that he had entered the portal.

“I’m on the plane and kid walk by. He said ‘Coach Prime, how ya doing…I’m in the portal.’ I said ‘Kid, can you play?’ He said ‘I can play,’” Sanders said. “I called Box (Darius Darden-Box), recruiting department. ‘Hey Box, look up this kid right now and tell me about him.’ Box called back in five minutes. He said ‘Coach, that kid is a dog. He can play.’”

Coach Prime found his new Starting LB Gideon ESPN Lampron on a plane ride to Cleveland 😳 pic.twitter.com/ZtTYo1ltsE
— SleeperCFB (@SleeperCFB) July 9, 2026

Sanders then said he got up out of his seat immediately and went to the back of the plane to find Lampron. Coach Prime followed up and called Lampron on the phone the next day. Lampron eventually came to Colorado on a visit and later on committed to the Buffs.

In 12 games for Bowling Green in 2025, Lampron had 119 total tackles, 17.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, and one pass defended.

Gideon Lampron’s Journey from Dayton to Colorado

Gideon Lampron began his collegiate career with the Dayton Flyers. He signed with Dayton as a member of their 2022 high school recruiting class. He played for the Flyers from 2022-2024. In his career there, he had 150 tackles, 27.5 tackles for loss, and 7.5 sacks. He was named a First-team FCS All-American in 2024. He entered the portal with eyes on making the move to the FBS level.

Lampron chose Bowling Green out of the MAC. After one season at Bowling Green, Lampron showed that he had the potential thrive at the power conference level. Now as a redshirt senior for Colorado in the Big 12, he’ll have the chance to do exactly that.

Colorado Busy in Transfer Portal

Lampron is one of 43 incoming players Colorado has from the transfer portal this offseason. The team will look a lot different than it did in 2025, and that’s not necessarily the worst thing in the world considering how last season went.

In 2025, Colorado finished with a record of 3-9. They won just one game over a power conference opponent and were second to last in the Big 12 conference, ahead of only the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Oklahoma State did not win a single conference game last season.

In three seasons with Sanders as the coach starting in 2023, the Buffs have an overall record of 16-21. Just one of these three seasons has resulted in an appearance in a bowl game: 2024. In 2024, Colorado went 9-3 in the regular season.

Can Colorado get back to a bowl in 2026?

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