Jalen Sami’s long journey at the University of Colorado is coming to a close.
On Tuesday, the senior defensive tackle from Colorado Springs put his name into the NCAA transfer portal. Linebackers Zion Magalei and Mister Williams and offensive lineman Travis Gray also put their names into the portal, as did cornerback Tayvion Beasley, who transferred to CU in January.
CU has now had 23 players enter the portal since Saturday’s spring game and 36 since the portal window opened on April 15.
During his career with the Buffs, Sami played in 40 games, with 36 starts. He started all 12 games last year and was in the starting lineup for each of CU’s last 19 games.
He finishes his CU career with 83 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks. Sami was named All-Pac-12 honorable mention each of the past two seasons.
A 2017 graduate of Vista Ridge High School, Sami grayshirted and delayed his enrollment until January of 2018. A knee injury then sidelined him for the entire 2018 season. During the last four seasons, he missed only two games.
Williams spent three seasons at CU, playing in 20 games, with two starts. He posted 20 tackles during his time with the Buffs, including a career-high 10 last season.
Magalei played in seven games during his time with the Buffs. He played only seven defensive snaps last season. Gray did not appear in any games as a Buff.
Beasley is the first player recruited by new head coach Deion Sanders to leave. Beasley played for Sanders at Jackson State last year. He was a backup nickelback at JSU in 2022, recording eight tackles, two interceptions, three pass breakups and a fumble recovery.
With Sami, Gray, Magalei and Williams leaving, the Buffs have only 16 scholarship players remaining from last year’s roster.
Ratings hit
Colorado’s spring game on Saturday drew 551,000 viewers on ESPN, an increase of 92% over last year when the network broadcast USC’s spring game (287,000 viewers).
CU’s spring game was the second-most watched spring game on the ESPN networks since 2016. The only one to draw more viewers in that time was Alabama’s spring game in 2021, with 556,000 viewers.
