Former CU Buff LaJohntay Wester turns heads in NFL preseason debut

The Colorado Buffaloes had one of the most explosive passing attacks in college football in 2024, and sent four key players from that unit to the NFL in the spring. Travis Hunter was the top name as he was selected with the No. 2 overall pick, Shedeur Sanders was the big story as he slid all the way down to the fifth round, and LaJohntay Wester and Jimmy Horn Jr. both were taken in the sixth round.

The Buffs were the only school to have three receivers taken in the draft.

Wester got his first shot to make a name for himself in the NFL on Thursday night, and he fully took advantage of the opportunity. He had three punt returns that he turned into 104 yards and a touchdown along with two receptions for 41 yards on offense. No other Raven had more than 10 receiving yards.

RAVENS ROOKIE LAJOHNTAY WESTER WITH A PUNT RETURN TD 🔥

INDvsBAL on @NFLNetwork
Watch live out-of-market preseason games on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/gGBq7QNm90

— NFL (@NFL) August 7, 2025

There’s not many players who can escape out of that situation in the NFL, much less turn it into six. That play alone could’ve earned him a spot on Baltimore’s 53-man roster, and all the extra stuff was a couple extra cherries on top.

.@la_wester first return❗

Tune in on WBAL! pic.twitter.com/mhM9BCnbRQ

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) August 7, 2025

When the Ravens took Wester with the 203rd pick back in April, the focus was on having him return punts rather than line up next to Lamar Jackson in the slot on offense, as there are a lot of talented names in front of him in the receiver room with Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman and veteran DeAndre Hopkins While he was a dominant player at Colorado, he is undersized at the professional level, so his punt returning ability will be his best asset, a skill he flashed at CU multiple times.

After the game, Wester emphasized the importance of being a “game changer” for the Ravens on special teams.

Ravens rookie punt returner LaJohntay Wester after 87-yard touchdown:

"One of the reasons they brought me here is to become a game changer in the special teams department… I'm taking that role head on, I just have to keep improving day-in and day-out so I can go ahead and… pic.twitter.com/P2Q1Uqvlqm

— AJ Gersh (@AJGershTV) August 8, 2025

In Boulder, Wester returned nine punts for 108 yards and a touchdown as he split the duties with Horn. His best season from a returning standpoint came in 2023 when he was playing for Florida Atlantic, as he turned 14 punt returns into 278 yards and a touchdown. He also returned kickoffs back in 2020, but only had four returns in his final four years of college as he primarily put the focus on the punt side of things.

Sanders and Horn will have their shots to make a name for themselves on Friday night, as the Cleveland Browns and the Carolina Panthers will square off to open the preseason. Sanders will get the start under center for the Browns, while Horn should get a fair share of reps as well. Kickoff for that contest is at 5:00 p.m. MDT and will be televised on NFL Network.

Related

Deion Sanders says injured top WR Danny Scudero will play in season openerDeion Sanders visits Shedeur Sanders at Browns campJuJu Lewis says what we already knew about CU’s coaching staffDeion Sanders explains why he’s not in College Football 27Coach Prime is healthy and confident in his Buffs at Big XII Media DayFormer Buffs assistant coach Bob Simmons, who helped CU to 1990 national title, dies