Deion Sanders’ impact: Linebacker Kyeran Garcia eager to develop with CU Buffs
Kieran Garcia embraced the moment before calling his parents last December to share the good news that he had received a scholarship from Colorado State University and coach Deion Sanders.
“I sat there for five minutes and thought, ‘It’s all paid off,'” he said. “Then I called mom and dad.”
The three-star linebacker from Dunbar High School in Coach Prime’s hometown of Fort Myers, Fla., became a surprise addition to the Buffaloes’ 2024 recruiting class when he signed his national letter of intent on Feb. 7. Garcia was also a little surprised.
He was an outstanding student with a 4.3 GPA and had 20 scholarship offers, but none from Power Five conference schools before CU. We serve academies, Ivy League schools, and more. I was interested. He even joined the Air Force. He was later invited to the Florida Athletic Association (FACA) All-Star Game in December. Finally, KO found Garcia. “I came out of practice and the head coach and assistant coach called me.” “They said Colorado was after me. I really didn’t think it was a big deal. They wanted to ask me for measurements and I took pictures. Then I got a text that said, “Coach Prime wants to FaceTime you.” I ended up using Zoom with them. It happened very quickly. It took about 15 minutes.”
CU liked Garcia’s numbers and characters and saw his film.
“They said I was a playmaker and offered me a scholarship,” he said. “I am very excited. I have worked my whole life for this great opportunity. And by the time I got to high school, I was looking for my first Power Five offer.
Garcia, who was a wide receiver early in his prep career, said he hasn’t lost his speed and started to improve as a sophomore. In the spring of 2022, his sophomore year, Garcia’s coaches asked him to try out for linebacker. “I had 15 hits and two hits in games this spring,” he said. “So they said I was a linebacker and it’s been that way ever since.”
Despite being a catcher until now, Garcia said the transition to defense was easy. “I think I’ve always had a bitch mentality,” he says. “It was about learning fighting techniques and I always felt the speed. So I got a bigger size and needless to say it’s gone. I like to hit people. I feel good.”
As a junior in 2022, Garcia recorded 142 tackles, 12 tackles for loss and one sack. He recorded 140 tackles, 22 TFLs and 10 sacks as a senior last year. Now he’ll have a chance to develop under Sanders and CU linebackers coach Andre Hart.
“I feel like I moved (to linebacker) pretty quickly and I think with the opportunity to go to Colorado, they’re going to develop me,” he said. “If you have two years of experience, it doesn’t really matter.
“Coach Hart is a great coach from Colorado and I can’t wait to play under him. I think he does a really good job of developing his teammates. I’ve seen movies that played as if the lights were out. So I feel like it can turn me into an animal and take me to the next level.
