One of the brightest stars of Saturday’s spring football game is leaving the Colorado Buffaloes.
Junior Montana Lemonious-Craig posted a letter on social media Sunday thanking the CU community for his time in Boulder. While Lemonious-Craig never actually wrote that he is transferring, the letter reads as a goodbye and multiple BuffZone sources confirmed that Lemonious-Craig is planning to transfer.
“I am writing to express my heartfelt appreciation to the entire University of Colorado community for the incredible opportunity I have had attending this esteemed institution in Boulder, Co.,” Lemonious-Craig wrote.
After thanking faculty, staff, peers and teammates, Lemonious-Craig added, “I am proud to have been a part of this community. Again, I want to thank the University of Colorado for making my college experience truly unforgettable.”
Also on Sunday, redshirt freshman receiver Chase Sowell announced that he is entering the transfer portal and Ju’Juan Johnson, a four-star recruit in the 2024 class, decommitted from the Buffs.
Lemonious-Craig unofficially caught six passes for 169 yards, including a 98-yard touchdown, in Saturday’s spring game at Folsom Field.
Last season, he led the Buffs with 23 catches, while finishing second in receiving yards (359) and receiving touchdowns (three). He caught a game-winning touchdown pass from JT Shrout in overtime of the Buffs’ lone win last season, 20-13 against California.
During his time with the Buffs, Lemonious-Craig played in 25 games, catching 33 passes for 482 yards and five touchdowns.
First-year CU head coach Deion Sanders has overhauled the roster and has said repeatedly that more changes are coming. However, Lemonious-Craig’s departure is surprising because of the production he’s had this spring and the rapport he’s built with the new staff and new quarterback Shedeur Sanders.
After Saturday’s spring game, Shedeur Sanders was asked about building a relationship with Lemonious-Craig.
“It’s been extremely fun,” Sanders said. “It was just him understanding the relationship I have with Travis (Hunter), also, down the field, like deep balls and you understand it’s a new offense. So the new offense is going to be pros and cons and things we struggle with. So then that’s when we all got together, worked over spring break. Just maintain a good relationship with each other and keep talking on and off the field, and then game day, he shows up.
“The main thing for a quarterback/receiver relationship is trust. That’s everything. If I trust him and I know, OK, regardless of anything, he’s not going to let nobody pick my ball, then the catches gonna to go up and that’s what Montana knows also. So, he stepped up today.”
As it turns out, the spring game will be Lemonious-Craig’s last with the Buffs. He has two seasons of eligibility remaining.
Sowell caught two passes for 23 yards as a true freshman last season, but played in only four games before a season-ending injury. He has four years of eligibility remaining.
Johnson, an athlete from Lafayette Christian (La.) Academy, committed to the Buffs on Feb. 4. He said CU is still one of his top schools, but he’s choosing to open up his recruitment at this time.
