Wait, is that… a seasoned SEC starter? A team captain? A leading tackler from a squad that knocked off Alabama, LSU, and Tennessee in the same season?
You better believe it.
Meet Randon Fontenette. As Colorado continues its aggressive (self imposed) roster transformation, landing a veteran with this kind of SEC pedigree is critical. A hybrid “STAR” defender who lived in the box for Clark Lea at Vanderbilt, Fontenette is a cross between a hard-hitting safety and a rangy nickel linebacker. CU defensive coordinator Rob Livingston has a new chess piece to play with.
Let’s jump in.
The Vital Stats
| Name | Randon Fontenette |
| Position | Safety / “STAR” Hybrid |
| Former School | Vanderbilt (via TCU) |
| Hometown | Freeport, Texas |
| Height | 6’1.5” |
| Weight | 220 lbs |
| Eligibility | Senior (1 Year Remaining) |
The Rankings
The services all ranked Fontenette as a 4-star, number 200(ish) player coming out of high school. His transfer portal rankings dipped into the three-star range, and he was ranked only the #897 player in the portal. This is likely because of his lack of top-end speed and positional uncertainty. However, as you’ll read, SEC coaches often game planned around him at Vanderbilt, which speaks to the fact that his transfer portal ranking is probably too low.
| Evaluation Period | Ranking Service | National Rank | Position Rank | State Rank | Star Rating / Grade |
| High School (2023) | 247Sports | 238 | 20 (S) | 42 (TX) | 4-Star / 90 |
| High School (2023) | On3 | 125 | 9 (S) | 27 (TX) | 4-Star |
| High School (2023) | Rivals | 224 | 16 (S) | 39 (TX) | 4-Star |
| Portal (2026) | 247Sports | 897 (OVR) | 82 (S) | – | 3-Star / 87 |
The Career Thus Far
At Brazosport High School in Freeport, Texas, Fontenette was a quintessential multi-positional star. He was a dual-threat quarterback and a dominant safety, a combination that fostered a high football IQ. During his junior season in 2021, Fontenette threw for 1,440 yards and 21 touchdowns while rushing for 1,066 yards and 12 scores.
Despite his offensive production, however, most colleges recruited Fontenette for defense. As a high school senior, he recorded 82 tackles and four picks. He committed to TCU over offers from Utah, USC, Texas Tech, and Vanderbilt.
During his freshman season at TCU, Fontenette primarily played special teams. However, he flashed in TCU’s season finale against Oklahoma, where he had 8 tackles. He finished his freshman season playing 81 snaps and a 69.3 PFF grade.
He transferred to Vanderbilt after his freshman year. In 2024, he played “STAR” for Clark Lea’s defense. In Clark Lea’s defense, STAR is a hybrid linebacker/box safety position. In fact, many analysts believe that the STAR is more linebacker than safety, and this is one of the reasons that there is some question regarding whether Fontenette’s ability to play a traditional safety role. See, e.g.,
https://vanderbilthustler.com/2024/11/07/film-room-clark-leas-revamped-defense
During his sophomore year, Fontenette finished third on the team in tackles. His biggest play — hell, the biggest play in Vanderbillt football history — was a 29-yard pick-six of Jalen Milroe that led the Commodores to a historic win against Alabama. The play also ensured that Fontenette will never — ever — have to buy a drink in Nashville.
“I didn’t imagine my first pick to be like that,” Fontenette told local reporters after the game. “Everything was just fast. I really thought Milroe was coming [in] at an angle, so that’s why I did that.”
Vanderbilt’s narrow five-point victory versus the Crimson Tide was the program’s first win in history over an AP top-five team, and it wouldn’t have been possible without Fontenette’s contributions. His standalone interception, coupled with a pass breakup, led Vandy to the win.
He finished his sophomore year with an above-average 65.7 PFF grade.
This past season, his stats dipped (52 tackles). He finished the season with a 68.2 PFF grade, ranking 11th on Vanderbilt’s defense among players that played more than 100 snaps on the season.
Why did Fontenette’s stats dip? Because opposing coaches intentionally ran away from him.
Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea put it bluntly: “For as disruptive as he was a year ago, there is a book out [on our defense]. I think a lot of that book is running to the boundary. For as much pressure as we’ve shown to the field, and again, for having that extra defender over there as an overhang, we see a lot of formation into boundaries… there’s opportunity for them to avoid him.”
In other words, SEC coordinators noticed that Vanderbilt played Fontenette almost exclusively to the wide-side of the field. As a result, they decided to play to the short side of the field and avoid Fontenette altogether. As a result, Fontentte’s stats slipped even though he had an oversized impact on the game.
Fontenette himself admitted to the frustration. He told reporters late in the 2025 season that, “there hasn’t been a lot of action coming my way. I talked to my coaches about it because I kind of got frustrated with my stats. As a player, you want the sacks, you want the tackles, you want the picks… My coach just told me, ‘They’re scheming away from you, but when the plays come, you have to make them.’”
Interestingly, one of the reasons CU appealed to Fontette is because CU plays with 2 high safeties on almost every play. CU walks one safety up into the box after the ball is snapped, essentially hiding the “box safety” until after the play has started. At Vanderbilt, teams knew where Fontenette was and stayed away. This should be harder to do under Rob Livingston’s offensive scheme.
The Scouting Report
Strengths
- Leadership. Fontenette was one of 5 team captains on one of the best Vanderbilt teams of all-time. He makes plays when the bright lights are on.
- Physicality: Fontenette is a “strike through the player” hitter. He has 14.5 career TFLs.
- Length: 33.25-inch arms. In the Big 12, where every team has a 6’5” “flex” tight end, having a long safety that can match up with tight ends / big receivers is crucial.
- Cerebral Play: Thanks to his high school QB background, he passes off receivers in zone coverage with veteran poise.
Weaknesses
- Long Speed: While Fontenette’s short-area burst is excellent for a box safety, he strains running with wide receivers that have high-end speed.
- Deep Coverage Range: He is a box safety. Using him as a centerfielder is a misuse of his abilities as he’s not an elite downfield defender.
- Difficulty Flipping Hips: He is incredible when the play is in front of him. But when he has to “flip his hips” and run 40 yards downfield with a burner, he looks like a linebacker. Scouts see that lack of top-end recovery speed and downgrade his NFL projections.
The Stats
| Season | School | Solo | Ast | TFL | Sacks | INT | PD |
| 2023 | TCU | 7 | 9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | Vandy | 45 | 28 | 8.0 | 2.5 | 1 | 8 |
| 2025 | Vandy | 31 | 21 | 6.5 | 1.0 | 0 | 6 |
Why He Came to Colorado
As noted, SEC offensive coordinators essentially shunned him. By the end of 2025, Fontenette was being systematically schemed out of games.
He came to Boulder because Robert Livingston’s “multi-high” system doesn’t park a safety in one spot. Instead, Livingston moves safeties around to disguise coverages. Also, Colorado lost Tawfiq Byard, meaning there are a lot of snaps available.
As an aside, his nickname is “Rambo.” His Vanderbilt teammate, cornerback Martell Hight, gave him the nickname after he said that Fontenette is a “silent killer” who is demanding of his teammates in a positive way. And who doesn’t want Rambo in the CU secondary?
YMRMFSPA
(You Might Remember Me From Such Players As)
| Player | Role at CU | Physical Profile | The Comparison |
| Davion Taylor | “Buff Backer” (Hybrid Safety/Linebacker) | 6’1″, 225 lbs | Taylor was a track star, but at CU, he was the prototypical “STAR.” Fontenette has that same “muscle safety” build. |
| Evan Worthington | Safety/Linebacker Hybrid | 6’2″, 210 lbs | Like Fontenette, Worthington was the guy you moved around the board to solve problems. He had elite downhill “click-and-close” ability but could get vertical-stretched by elite speed. |
Final Projection
Fontenette will likely start at safety but spend 50+% of his snaps in the box or at nickel linebacker.
Expect Fontenette to be a captain, team leader, and to record about 70 tackles, 8 TFLs, and a whole lot of pointing at other people to get lined up right. It’s also fair to expect sevearl “blow by” Shilo Sanders-syle long TDs against him. He’s a veteran presence that allows the younger, twitchier athletes like Boo Carter and Justin Eaglin to cover downfield while he ensures the roof doesn’t cave in up front. He’s a high floor player that maybe doesn’t have an elite ceiling but should be a very productive player for CU’s defense in 2026.
Other Random Stuff / What Else to Read and Watch
This blog isn’t just a CU sports blog. I like to write about random stuff from time to time, and I like to recommend stuff I’ve read/watched…..sometimes it’s sports related, sometimes it’s not.
–From a sports standpoint, I’ve decided that I’m going to try to get into F1 racing this year. Based on everything I’ve read, this is a great yeat to start following F1. This is largely due to the fact that everyone, including powerhouses like Ferrari, Red Bull, and Mercedes, are starting from zero because of the entirely new rules for the engine and chasis.
There’s also several new teams this year, including a new American(ish) team in Cadillac. While I’ve read that fans shouldn’t expect too much from Cadillac, I think I’m going to be #TeamCadillac. If you know anything about F1, drop a comment or reach out to me at [email protected] (the email address that explains that it’s an email address) and educate me.
I enjoyed watching this “intro to F1” video FWIW.
–This story hits close to home. “What Surprised These WSJ Columnists Most About Retirement.” ($)
–At Winter Olympics, drone cameras are pushing limits for viewers — and athletes. ($)
–A great story by Pat Forde about Ukraine’s Vladslav Herakevych’s Olympic protest. Herakevych is the most important person in this year’s Winter Olympics.
–“We are witnessing the self-immolation of a superpower.”
https://www.wired.com/story/donald-trump-has-fully-set-fire-to-what-made-america-great
–Last, I want to give a shout-out to CU’s lacrosse team. They knocked off national power (and 2nd ranked!) Northwestern this past week in their first game of the season. Click the link below for game highlights.
Want to read more from BuffsBlog? Check out this post that takes a look at CU’s newest high school commitments:
I watch / subscribe to DNVR and they were gushing about Fontenette. I feel like they didn’t give me the full story. When I read your story I was shocked to find out he was only ranked the #900 player in the portal, so some scouts obvioulsy don’t think he’s a future first or second round NFL draft pick (which is what they were saying). You do a fair job of giving the full picture – pros and cons – of each player. I’m sick of the sunshine pumping coverage, and you do a good job of being a fan but also being fair and objective. Anyway, thanks for your good work.
Fontentte is a classic tweener. I think that impacts his transfer rating. Still, I think he has a high floor. He’ll play both LB and safety.
I do think offenses will try to scheme to get him locked onto WRs downfied in the passing game. His NFL future hinges on his ability to be able to run with them.
F1 is great. You should cheer for Sir Lewis Hamilton. He’s a part owner of the Denver Broncos so there’s a local tie you can root for!
…and he’s dating Kim Kardashian apparently, so there’s a reason not to root for him.
Kidding. Sort of.