Matthew Jonas/MediaNews Group/Boulder Daily Camera via Getty Images/Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
Colorado LB Gideon Lampron and head coach Deion Sanders
There are easier ways to get recruited by a Power Four football program than accidentally running into Deion Sanders on a commercial flight. Gideon ESPN Lampron apparently decided those methods were boring.
The fifth-year linebacker is now one of the biggest names in Colorado Buffaloes training camp after a December plane ride from Dallas to Cleveland turned into what might be the most aggressively college-football recruiting story imaginable. Lampron, who was in the transfer portal after a monster season at Bowling Green, spotted Sanders while boarding, introduced himself, told him he wanted to play for him and initially got little more than a fist bump and a “Godspeed.”
Gideon ESPN Lampron Basically Cold-Called Coach Prime At 30,000 Feet
That could have been the entire interaction. Lampron would have gone home, Sanders would have gone to Cleveland to see his son Shedeur, and both men could have eventually forgotten about the random airport conversation before the beverage cart came around.
Instead, Sanders doubled back while Lampron was putting his bag in the overhead compartment and told him to send some tape so he could make a few calls. Lampron said that a few days later, he was in Boulder.
The funniest part is that Lampron was not some guy trying to talk his way into a roster spot with nothing on his résumé. He had 119 tackles, 17.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, and two forced fumbles at Bowling Green in 2025, becoming the only FBS player to finish the regular season with more than 100 tackles and 15 tackles for loss.
Before that, he was a first-team FCS All-American at Dayton. Colorado officially added him in January, and he and Texas transfer Liona Lefau have since landed on the Butkus Award watch list.
So, yes, the guy had tape worth sending.
His Actual Middle Name Is ESPN, Because Of Course It Is
As if the story needed another detail that sounds fake, ESPN is not a nickname Lampron invented for branding purposes. It is his legal middle name.
His father, Marty, is a massive sports fan and came up with it. Lampron has said sports are a major part of his family and that he appreciates the name, which is good because there are not many easy ways to quietly move through life when your driver’s license looks like a cable package.
The name also feels increasingly appropriate.
Deion Sanders said Lampron has “exceeded expectations” in camp, calling him a leader, playmaker and someone who loves to practice. He was also one of the Buffaloes invited to Sanders’ Dallas-area mansion for a leadership retreat this summer.
Colorado could certainly use the help. The Buffaloes went 3-9 last season while allowing 30.5 points and 425.7 yards per game, and Lampron is part of a rebuilt linebacker room under new defensive coordinator Chris Marve.
That is a pretty substantial rise for a player who started his career at Dayton after receiving limited recruiting attention out of high school in LaGrange, Ohio.
Lampron worked his way from Dayton to Bowling Green, from Bowling Green to the transfer portal, and from the transfer portal onto a plane where the most famous coach in college football happened to be sitting a few rows away.
Most players need recruiting graphics, official visits, and weeks of phone calls to find their next school.
Lampron apparently just needed a boarding pass and enough confidence to say hello.