Second Game At Folsom, First As A Buff
September 07, 2026 | Football
Toby Anene has already played a game at Folsom Field. Saturday, he gets to play one for the home crowd.
BOULDER — The last time Toby Anene walked out of the tunnel at Folsom Field, 50,000 strong were rooting against him.
It was Aug. 29, 2024, a Thursday night, national television, the second season under Deion "Coach Prime" Sanders opening against an FCS power that had every intention of spoiling it. Anene was a second-year defensive end for North Dakota State then, a reserve wearing No. 93, and he got on the field in the fourth quarter while Colorado ground out a 17-play, 80-yard touchdown drive that put the game away. He was in on two of the tackles. The Bison lost, 31-26, but they left Boulder having pushed the Buffs to the final minute en route to a national championship.
He remembers the night more for the atmosphere than the result.
"It was a great environment when we were here in '24, and just coming out to that game was a great experience," Anene said. "Loved every moment of it. So yeah, I can't wait to play in front of this home crowd."
That wait ends Saturday, when Colorado hosts Weber State at 1:30 p.m. MT in its 2026 home opener. Anene, now a fifth-year defensive end and one of the most decorated transfers on the roster, will take the field at Folsom for the second time — and for the first time, the crowd will be his.
FROM FARGO TO BOULDER
The stretch between those two Folsom appearances is the reason he's here.
Anene was a rotational piece for most of 2024 before stepping into the starting lineup for the last nine games of North Dakota State's run to the FCS national championship. He led the Missouri Valley Football Conference with four forced fumbles that season. In 2025, he started all 13 games and finished with 8.5 tackles for loss and seven sacks, earning All-MVFC second-team honors and an Associated Press FCS All-America honorable mention.
He arrived in Boulder in January as the highest-rated defensive end in Colorado's portal class and immediately landed on the preseason radar: a Shriners Children's East-West Bowl 1000 selection, Phil Steele's No. 73 draft-eligible defensive end and Pro Football Focus' No. 7 returning edge rusher in the Big 12.
Ask him what has changed in his game between the two Folsom trips, and he doesn't talk about pass-rush moves.
"I'd say play recognition, and just understanding backfield sets, splits — tight end splits, offensive line splits — and just understanding what offenses are trying to do to us, and what our strengths are in the defense, and what our weaknesses are," Anene said. "Just understanding the game on a deeper level."
That showed up in the opener. At Georgia Tech on Thursday, Anene had five tackles, a tackle for loss and two quarterback hurries as the front held the Yellow Jackets to 51 rushing yards on 30 carries in Colorado's 14-13 win.
A ROOM THAT PUSHES
Anene came into a room that edge rushers coach George Helow built almost entirely out of players who had already produced somewhere else, and he is the first to say the competition has made him better.
"I see Manny hit a ghost a couple days ago, and I'm thinking to myself, maybe I should try that," Anene said of Immanuel "Manny" Ezeogu. "I see Lamont do a different type of swipe — I'm trying to add that to my bag. So just seeing those guys who have done good things at a lot of different places, it's a blessing. And then just trying to add it to my bag and trying to be the best version of myself I can be."
He has noticed the room growing around him, too. Asked during camp which teammates had taken the biggest jumps since spring, he named Ezeogu, Domata Peko Jr. and Lamont Lester Jr. before widening the answer.
"I've seen it with a lot of guys in the D-end room," Anene said. "And I just think it's getting acclimated, understanding the defense on a better level, and just starting to buy in and really get close to your teammates. Because once you're close to the guy next to you, you want to die on the field for him. You'd do anything on the field for that guy."
Lester made good on that in Atlanta with three sacks. Linebackers Gideon ESPN Lampron and Tyler Martinez, asked separately in the final week of camp which front-four players had surged, both put Anene on the list.
ONE MORE FIRST
Anene has played in 41 college games, including one FCS national championship game and one at Folsom Field. Saturday still counts as a first.
He'll be introduced as a Buff. The crowd will be on his side of the field. And when Colorado's defense takes the grass for the first time at home in 2026, the guy who watched from the visitors' sideline two Augusts ago will be one of the ones setting the edge.
He said he can't wait. He's been saying it since the middle of August.
It was Aug. 29, 2024, a Thursday night, national television, the second season under Deion "Coach Prime" Sanders opening against an FCS power that had every intention of spoiling it. Anene was a second-year defensive end for North Dakota State then, a reserve wearing No. 93, and he got on the field in the fourth quarter while Colorado ground out a 17-play, 80-yard touchdown drive that put the game away. He was in on two of the tackles. The Bison lost, 31-26, but they left Boulder having pushed the Buffs to the final minute en route to a national championship.
He remembers the night more for the atmosphere than the result.
"It was a great environment when we were here in '24, and just coming out to that game was a great experience," Anene said. "Loved every moment of it. So yeah, I can't wait to play in front of this home crowd."
That wait ends Saturday, when Colorado hosts Weber State at 1:30 p.m. MT in its 2026 home opener. Anene, now a fifth-year defensive end and one of the most decorated transfers on the roster, will take the field at Folsom for the second time — and for the first time, the crowd will be his.
FROM FARGO TO BOULDER
The stretch between those two Folsom appearances is the reason he's here.
Anene was a rotational piece for most of 2024 before stepping into the starting lineup for the last nine games of North Dakota State's run to the FCS national championship. He led the Missouri Valley Football Conference with four forced fumbles that season. In 2025, he started all 13 games and finished with 8.5 tackles for loss and seven sacks, earning All-MVFC second-team honors and an Associated Press FCS All-America honorable mention.
He arrived in Boulder in January as the highest-rated defensive end in Colorado's portal class and immediately landed on the preseason radar: a Shriners Children's East-West Bowl 1000 selection, Phil Steele's No. 73 draft-eligible defensive end and Pro Football Focus' No. 7 returning edge rusher in the Big 12.
Ask him what has changed in his game between the two Folsom trips, and he doesn't talk about pass-rush moves.
"I'd say play recognition, and just understanding backfield sets, splits — tight end splits, offensive line splits — and just understanding what offenses are trying to do to us, and what our strengths are in the defense, and what our weaknesses are," Anene said. "Just understanding the game on a deeper level."
That showed up in the opener. At Georgia Tech on Thursday, Anene had five tackles, a tackle for loss and two quarterback hurries as the front held the Yellow Jackets to 51 rushing yards on 30 carries in Colorado's 14-13 win.
A ROOM THAT PUSHES
Anene came into a room that edge rushers coach George Helow built almost entirely out of players who had already produced somewhere else, and he is the first to say the competition has made him better.
"I see Manny hit a ghost a couple days ago, and I'm thinking to myself, maybe I should try that," Anene said of Immanuel "Manny" Ezeogu. "I see Lamont do a different type of swipe — I'm trying to add that to my bag. So just seeing those guys who have done good things at a lot of different places, it's a blessing. And then just trying to add it to my bag and trying to be the best version of myself I can be."
He has noticed the room growing around him, too. Asked during camp which teammates had taken the biggest jumps since spring, he named Ezeogu, Domata Peko Jr. and Lamont Lester Jr. before widening the answer.
"I've seen it with a lot of guys in the D-end room," Anene said. "And I just think it's getting acclimated, understanding the defense on a better level, and just starting to buy in and really get close to your teammates. Because once you're close to the guy next to you, you want to die on the field for him. You'd do anything on the field for that guy."
Lester made good on that in Atlanta with three sacks. Linebackers Gideon ESPN Lampron and Tyler Martinez, asked separately in the final week of camp which front-four players had surged, both put Anene on the list.
ONE MORE FIRST
Anene has played in 41 college games, including one FCS national championship game and one at Folsom Field. Saturday still counts as a first.
He'll be introduced as a Buff. The crowd will be on his side of the field. And when Colorado's defense takes the grass for the first time at home in 2026, the guy who watched from the visitors' sideline two Augusts ago will be one of the ones setting the edge.
He said he can't wait. He's been saying it since the middle of August.
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