2026 games, tackles for loss per game. W and L: the team’s results.
“I’d just like to point out that Santana Hopper and Lamont Lester are top tier D line names and we should be ranked solely because of their presence on this team”
6 stories in the last 30 days, from 5 outlets.
Chris Marve praises Colorado's DT duo of Santana Hopper, Dylan Manuel
Buffaloes Wire Oct 22
Santana Hopper
Disrupts the pocket from the interior. The five seasons span three programs and three head coaches: Shawn Clark, Jon Sumrall and Deion Sanders. All-AAC in 2025 made it two straight seasons on the honors list. On tape: 10 tackles and 5 tackles for loss against Texas Tech, Week 5, 2026.
24 tackles · 2 sacks
Play style
Disruptive interior rusher who lives in the backfield.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
from 5 outlets
Chris Marve praises Colorado's DT duo of Santana Hopper, Dylan Manuel
Buffaloes Wire Oct 22 · 1 outlet
from 8 outlets
Colorado's Santana Hopper Turns Heads With Fall Camp Mindset
Sports Illustrated +1 Aug 19 · 2 outlets
Sports Illustrated +1Colorado's Santana Hopper Pulls Back the Curtain on Deion Sanders, Go-Go OffenseAug 18
On3Inside Colorado football: Santana Hopper ready to cause destructionAug 24
247SportsInside Santana Hopper's dominant early run at ColoradoOct 11
University of Colorado Athletics247SportsOn3Sports Illustrated +1Each week: his team’s game, the stories about him that week, and the week’s biggest news headline.
Stories we tracked, by school.
Colorado12 stories2026 to nowMost about: profile and feature, in his words, awards and watch lists.
Sports Illustrated +1Colorado's Santana Hopper Pulls Back the Curtain on Deion Sanders, Go-Go OffenseAug 18Sports Illustrated +1Colorado's Santana Hopper Turns Heads With Fall Camp MindsetAug 19
Denver GazetteMeet Santana Hopper, a Tulane transfer who might be the best player on Colorado's defenseAug 19
Tulane2025not tracked
App State2022 to 2024not trackedStories are headlines grouped by what they are about, counted through Nov 4.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 7 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 14-13@ Georgia Tech | 1 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 52-21vs Weber State | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 7-41@ Northwestern | 3 | 3 | 2.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 13-23@ Baylor | 3 | 2 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 7-29vs No. 12 Texas Tech | 10 | 5 | 5.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 10 tackles |
| Wk 7 | L 24-27vs No. 11 Utah | 1 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | L 24-57@ Oklahoma State | 5 | 1 | 1.5 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 24 | 12 | 11.0 | 2.0 | — | 0 |
Oct. 24 · L 24-57 at Oklahoma State, play by play
5 tackles, including 1 sack. He hurried the quarterback once.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 6 for him; the box score credits 5.
Sacked the quarterback for a 5-yard loss. Third quarter, down 37-24.
His game this year: disruption in the backfield — 11 tackles for loss, 2 of them sacks, in the 7 games with play by play.
How Colorado’s defense played that day
Oklahoma State’s 13 drives: 2 stopped · 11 scored. While the game was within a score they held 1 of 8. His hurry came with Colorado up 4.
1 tackle. The pressure he forced on 3rd and 3 ended Utah’s drive (int).
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Hurried the quarterback on 3rd and 3. Third quarter, up 14-13. Ended Utah’s drive (int).
10 tackles, including 5 more for loss, the most tackles for loss in FBS that week. He hurried the quarterback 4 times.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
3 tackles. He hurried the quarterback twice.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 4 for him; the box score credits 3.
3 tackles, including 2 more for loss.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play: 2 of his 3, sacks included.
1 tackle, including 1 sack. He hurried the quarterback twice.
Sacked the quarterback for a 2-yard loss on 3rd and 10. Second quarter, up 35-14.
1 tackle.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Conference ranks count every player in the conference with a row in that stat, any position. Career ranks count current FBS players, from the games in our log.
Ratings of the games shown run from -1 to +18 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
TFL rate
46%11 TFLSack rate
8%2 sacksHurry rate
46%11 hurries24 tackles · 11 for loss · 2 sacks.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 7 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home3g | 4.0 | 2.2 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
| Road4g | 3.0 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 3.2 | 1.6 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+1g | 5.0 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Deion Sanders
Pass share
48.2%
264 pass / 284 run
Plays / game
68.5
8 games
Team sack rate
6.4%
298 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2025
First team in his league at the position.
2026 is in progress.
Played for three programs.
The role got bigger.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-AAC · 1ST TEAM
All-AAC 1st team (2025)
Weekly recognition
1 weekly honor (2025)
AAC Defensive Player of the Week
Coaching lineage · 2022–2026
3 coachesPlayed for 3 head coaches at 3 schools: Shawn Clark, Jon Sumrall and Deion Sanders.
Next stop · Transfer
Transferred to Colorado
Big 12 Conference
