A native of LaGrange, Ohio, Gideon Lampron didn’t go far from home to begin his college journey.
There were days during his three years at Dayton, however, when Lampron just wanted more.
“I would wake up at my first school and I’d just be like, ‘I wish I was somewhere else,’” said Lampon, now a senior linebacker for the Colorado Buffaloes. “And everyone had that mentality, and now we’re here, and now we need to accomplish the goals we have.”
It wasn’t that Lampron didn’t like Dayton. In fact, he said, “I loved it there,” but like many young players, he grew up dreaming of playing big-time college football.
“I always had greater ambitions and the goal was always to play at the best level,” he said.
Lampron is one of 27 transfers for the Buffs this season that came from non-Power Four conference schools, with some coming from the FCS or junior college ranks. Now, they’re hoping to prove themselves at the highest level.
“We brought in dogs,” said receiver Kam Perry, who began is career at Indiana in 2023, but had his breakout at Miami-Ohio the last two years. “Itap guys that really want to be here, guys that put in the effort every day, and you see it every day. As a teammate, thatap what you like to see from your guys, like going to war with them.”
In the past, CU has had mixed results with players coming up from lower levels.
The headliners, of course, were Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter, who starred for the Buffs in 2023 and 2024 after transferring from Jackson State. That duo, however, had Power Four talent and numerous FBS offers, choosing Jackson State to play for Sanders’ father, Deion Sanders. They then followed Coach Prime to Boulder.
Several transfers from lower levels didn’t make an impact at CU, or even struggled to get on the field.
Others, however, such as Zach Atkins, Tawfiq Byard, Shane Cokes, Xavier Hill, Preston Hodge, Jimmy Horn Jr., Zarian McGill, Cam’Ron Silmon-Craig, Xavier Weaver and LaJohntay Wester have come to CU after starring at Group of Five or FCS schools and been stars for the Buffs.
CU now has a new collection of players aiming to prove themselves.
Lampron was an FCS All-American at Dayton in 2024 before transferring to Bowling Green last year. He excelled there, too, earning first-team All-MAC honors with 119 tackles and 17.5 tackles for loss.
Receiver Danny Scudero is a newcomer to the Power Four, as well, but he comes to CU after leading the nation in receiving yards (1,291) while playing for San Jose State last year. He began his career at Sacramento State from the FCS level.
“It makes for a cool story,” Scudero said of his climb, “but at the same time itap you kind of have the mindset of you gotta earn everything. And everything that is given in this sport you really just earn it. And, the only way you can earn it is just by working.”
A trio of players worked for it last year at New Mexico State to earn a shot at CU: defensive lineman Ezra Chistensen, who was first-team All-Conference USA; safety Naten Mitchell, who was second-team All-CUSA; and linebacker Tyler Martinez, who was second-team All-CUSA in 2024 before missing most of last year with an injury.
“Right as we all hit the portal at the same time, we all kind of talked like, ‘Hey, Colorado’s hitting us up; this would be cool if we all ran it back, and we locked in,’” Martinez said. “So itap definitely awesome.”
Itap a newcomer group that also includes offensive lineman Sean Kinney (Lafayette); defensive lineman Santana Hopper (Tulane); edge defenders Toby Anena (North Dakota State), Balansama Kamara (Albany) and Lamont Lester Jr. (Monmouth); and cornerbacks Justin Eaglin (James Madison), Emory Floyd (Appalachian State) and Paul Omodia (Lamar). All of them earned all-conference honors last season.
“When you take a bunch of guys that have a similar story like that, they’re going to strive for greatness,” Lampron said. “You know they’re going to come with a chip on their shoulder and compete every single day because they know what itap like to wish to be here.”
Lampron once wished to be here, and now he wakes up every day living his dream of playing Power Four football.
“I’m just thankful to be here,” he said. “Coming from where I started out of high school with no offers, it was tough, and I just have that chip on my shoulder, and I’m just thankful to be here now.”
