In his three years at the University of Texas, Liona Lefau experienced a great deal of success, personally and as a team.
When the NCAA transfer portal opened this winter, however, he felt it was time for a change, and he wound up joining the Colorado Buffaloes.
“I enjoyed my time a lot at my previous school,” said Lefau, a senior inside linebacker. “Lots of friendships that I made over there, during my time there, with different players and coaches, and relationships that will stick with me forever.
“Meeting with my family and praying about what we should do next — we always ask the man upstairs for an answer on what we should do next, no matter what goes on — we felt like it was the best opportunity for me to take a step and go elsewhere.”
Now, the 6-foot-1, 230-pounder is aiming to be a leader and impact player in the middle of CU’s defense.
“Some of the things I was looking for was a hungry team,” Lefau said. “They brought in a lot of new players, and I knew a lot of people were hungry, so I came here — everyone’s hungry. I was ready to work, too.”
Lefau also connected with head coach Deion Sanders, defensive coordinator Robert Livingston and newly hired linebackers coach Chris Marve. Livingston has since moved on to a job with the Denver Broncos, with Marve taking over as coordinator.
“Just having my position coach be the DC now, itap fun to go out there and play for him,” Lefau said.
CU struggled on defense last year, especially at inside linebacker. Thatap a big reason why Lefau, Gideon Lampron (Bowling Green) and Tyler Martinez (New Mexico State) were all brought in as senior transfers with a lot of experience under their belts.
Lefau, who has one year of eligibility remaining, was a two-year starter at Texas, helping the Longhorns go 35-8 overall in his three seasons in Austin. He helped Texas reach the College Football Playoff in 2024 and nearly a return trip to the CFP this past season.
Overall, Lefau played in 42 games at Texas, including 20 in a row as a starter before putting his name in the transfer portal and skipping the Citrus Bowl against Michigan on Dec. 31. Overall, he made 22 career starts for the Longhorns.
Last season, Lefau posted 69 tackles (tied for third on the team), three tackles for loss, one sack, three pass breakups and a fumble recovery he returned 52 yards for a touchdown.
Lefau is hoping to take his game to a different level under the tutelage of Marve, who was a three-time All-SEC linebacker in his playing days.
“For somebody to push you each and every day to be the best version of yourself, it just helps you to elevate your game each and every day,” Lefau said.
Texas’ roster is always loaded with talent, so Lefau is no stranger to competition, and he said there’s a high level of competition at CU.
“Shoot, everyone’s just flying around trying to prove what they’re capable of doing,” he said. “It brings this competitive level — it raises the bar for everyone because everyone’s on their A-game. You can’t take any plays off, can’t take any reps off.
“Just trying to compete every single day and elevate everyone else’s game as well; not only yours, because at the end of the day, we’re a team and we’re trying to be together and win some games. So, just elevating everyone else’s game.”
