LaJohntay Wester isn’t ranked among the most highly regarded transfers in the 2024 class.
In fact, 247Sports doesn’t even rate Wester as the top receiver transfer signed by the Colorado Buffaloes. (Vanderbilt transfer Will Sheppard is several spots higher).
It’s difficult to find many players who had more production, though, and the 5-foot-11, 167-pounder from Florida Atlantic University is bringing his electricity to Boulder.
“Extremely quick, extremely knowledgeable,” CU receivers coach Jason Phillips said. “A veteran; a guy that understands and reads coverages well, and just explosiveness. I mean, it’s no secret as to what he did last season and why he’s here, because he’s an explosive player.”
Explosive enough, in fact, for CU quarterback Shedeur Sanders to publicly state last winter that he wanted Wester on his team.
Last year, Wester was second nationally in catches (108) and 14th in receiving yards (1,168), while scoring eight touchdowns. He set new FAU single-season records for receptions and receiving yards.
Wester was also named a first-team All-American at punt returner by the Football Writers Association of America, while earning American Athletic Conference special teams player of the year honors. He was fifth nationally with 278 yards, averaging 19.9 yards per return and bringing one back for a touchdown.
The chance to catch passes from Sanders and to play for CU head coach Deion Sanders was too good to pass up, though.
“Coach Prime, and just this environment, this family,” he said of why CU was the best fit for him and his brother, Jaylen, a linebacker who also transferred in from FAU. “It’s a big jump for us because we come from Florida. It’s far from Florida; a big adjustment but we’ve been taking risks all our life so me and my brother, it was a no brainer for us to come here and get the exposure get coached by NFL talent. It was great.”
In his four seasons with the Owls, Wester caught 252 passes for 2,703 yards and 21 touchdowns – ranking first in FAU history in all three categories. He’s second in FAU history in career all-purpose yards (3,841). In addition to receiving and returns, he rushed for 213 yards and two scores during his time at FAU.
“I just play with a lot of heart and intensity and a lot of hunger,” he said. “I know I don’t have the size, the speed, the strength, so I just play with a lot of heart and effort and my skill set is gonna show for sure.”
That determination and heart comes from growing up in Florida, he said.
“I’ve had that confidence just coming from where I come from,” he said. “There’s not a lot of people make it from where I come from, so just having that chip on my shoulder and being confident is gonna get me here. So I’ve always trusted and bet on myself.”
Now, he’s betting on himself to make a big impact with a CU offense engineered by Shedeur Sanders. But, he won’t be alone. It’s a stacked a receiver room, including Sheppard, Travis Hunter, Jimmy Horn Jr., and more.
“Man, it’s been great,” he said of the competition at receiver so far this spring. “I mean, it’s a lot of competition in that room. Everybody’s still trying to adjust to each other, but we feed off each other’s energy so we compete but we also boost each other up when we’re doing good.”
