University of Colorado Athletics
Three Roads To The Middle: Buffs' Veteran Linebackers Have Hart Sleeping Easy
August 26, 2026 | Football
BOULDER — One came from the most famous football town in Hawai'i by way of a Power Four powerhouse. One left small-town Ohio and climbed through Dayton and Bowling Green. One took the long road out of Albuquerque, through a military institute and New Mexico State.
Three linebackers, three completely different routes — and one very well-rested position coach.
"When you have three guys like that that have that type of experience, it's easier to coach to the whole room, because they can help you coach to the younger guys — because they've been there before," linebackers coach Andre Hart said of fourth-year senior Liona Lefau, fifth-year senior Gideon ESPN Lampron and fifth-year senior Tyler Martinez. "They've lived it. They've done it. It just raises the level of play and then also the execution. So it's been great, man. I sleep good at night."
The trio is a walking illustration of how Hart believes a portal-era roster should be built. Ask him why this team feels different and he'll describe two kinds of transfers: the Power Four veteran with real production, and the player from a lower level with production and something to prove.
"Now you're getting guys from the FCS who have production, but also have a chip on their shoulder, and they want to prove they should be here," Hart said. "So when you get those two together, it makes for a really good mix of guys who want to be just detail-oriented to winning. It's not about money. It's not about any branding. It's about football."
Look down the depth chart at linebacker and there's the mix, in the flesh: Lefau, the Kahuku product who arrived from Texas, alongside Lampron and Martinez, who earned every snap on the way up.
Getting them here was its own recruitment — and defensive coordinator Chris Marve treated it that way.
"He put a lot of details into just recruiting," Lefau said. "I'm sure the other linebackers say the same thing. He recruited me hard. He knew my strengths. He knew things I needed to work on coming in, and it meant a lot to me — just the time that he put in."
What Colorado got in return is a room that has seen almost everything a Saturday can offer.
"One of the bigger strengths that we kind of all have throughout the linebacker room is just our experience — where we came from," Lefau said. "We each played a ton of snaps. We've seen a bunch of formations. That's something that you can't really practice — just being out there and making those mistakes in a real-life game, and bouncing back from it."
For Hart, the value compounds. Three veterans with three different games means three different lessons for the freshmen behind them — and a blueprint that outlasts one season.
"If you got three different guys with three different skills, there's three different ways you could attack something," Hart said. "Your younger guys are getting better. They're learning what fits them, and now you don't just have a one season — you have a program. Not a one-year hit wonder, but two, three years down the line."
The leadership extends past the meeting room. Hart says the locker room now polices itself.
"We have real leaders in the locker room," Hart said. "So now they patrol the locker room for us, and they hold people accountable. When you have that in your organization, and it starts from the players up, it makes it that much easier to get ahead of the game."
Each of the three carries his own reason to make this season count. For Martinez, whose last season was cut short, the wait ends when he hits the tunnel at Georgia Tech on Sept. 3.
"That feeling of running out of the tunnel again — for the first time here, but anywhere, that feeling is unmatched," Martinez said. "I'm excited to do it and get on that field and just let it fly."
His time away sharpened the edges of everything since.
"At that point in my life, I thought I was on top of the world — had everything going for me — and it all goes downhill in the blink of an eye," Martinez said. "Now, every time I walk into the facility, I treat it as an opportunity, and every day I get to get better doing what I love."
For Lampron, the climb itself is the point.
"I'm so excited to put on the black and gold this first game," Lampron said. "I mean, that's why all of us came here. Been dreaming of playing at this level since a kid, so I'm ready to go make the most of it."
Three roads, one middle of the defense. The coach who gets to send them out there together has already told you how he feels about it.
He sleeps good at night.
Three linebackers, three completely different routes — and one very well-rested position coach.
"When you have three guys like that that have that type of experience, it's easier to coach to the whole room, because they can help you coach to the younger guys — because they've been there before," linebackers coach Andre Hart said of fourth-year senior Liona Lefau, fifth-year senior Gideon ESPN Lampron and fifth-year senior Tyler Martinez. "They've lived it. They've done it. It just raises the level of play and then also the execution. So it's been great, man. I sleep good at night."
The trio is a walking illustration of how Hart believes a portal-era roster should be built. Ask him why this team feels different and he'll describe two kinds of transfers: the Power Four veteran with real production, and the player from a lower level with production and something to prove.
"Now you're getting guys from the FCS who have production, but also have a chip on their shoulder, and they want to prove they should be here," Hart said. "So when you get those two together, it makes for a really good mix of guys who want to be just detail-oriented to winning. It's not about money. It's not about any branding. It's about football."
Look down the depth chart at linebacker and there's the mix, in the flesh: Lefau, the Kahuku product who arrived from Texas, alongside Lampron and Martinez, who earned every snap on the way up.
Getting them here was its own recruitment — and defensive coordinator Chris Marve treated it that way.
"He put a lot of details into just recruiting," Lefau said. "I'm sure the other linebackers say the same thing. He recruited me hard. He knew my strengths. He knew things I needed to work on coming in, and it meant a lot to me — just the time that he put in."
What Colorado got in return is a room that has seen almost everything a Saturday can offer.
"One of the bigger strengths that we kind of all have throughout the linebacker room is just our experience — where we came from," Lefau said. "We each played a ton of snaps. We've seen a bunch of formations. That's something that you can't really practice — just being out there and making those mistakes in a real-life game, and bouncing back from it."
For Hart, the value compounds. Three veterans with three different games means three different lessons for the freshmen behind them — and a blueprint that outlasts one season.
"If you got three different guys with three different skills, there's three different ways you could attack something," Hart said. "Your younger guys are getting better. They're learning what fits them, and now you don't just have a one season — you have a program. Not a one-year hit wonder, but two, three years down the line."
The leadership extends past the meeting room. Hart says the locker room now polices itself.
"We have real leaders in the locker room," Hart said. "So now they patrol the locker room for us, and they hold people accountable. When you have that in your organization, and it starts from the players up, it makes it that much easier to get ahead of the game."
Each of the three carries his own reason to make this season count. For Martinez, whose last season was cut short, the wait ends when he hits the tunnel at Georgia Tech on Sept. 3.
"That feeling of running out of the tunnel again — for the first time here, but anywhere, that feeling is unmatched," Martinez said. "I'm excited to do it and get on that field and just let it fly."
His time away sharpened the edges of everything since.
"At that point in my life, I thought I was on top of the world — had everything going for me — and it all goes downhill in the blink of an eye," Martinez said. "Now, every time I walk into the facility, I treat it as an opportunity, and every day I get to get better doing what I love."
For Lampron, the climb itself is the point.
"I'm so excited to put on the black and gold this first game," Lampron said. "I mean, that's why all of us came here. Been dreaming of playing at this level since a kid, so I'm ready to go make the most of it."
Three roads, one middle of the defense. The coach who gets to send them out there together has already told you how he feels about it.
He sleeps good at night.
Players Mentioned
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