Colorado Buffaloes Transfer Portal: Receiver Jack Hestera Returns Home To Boulder

He's portal addition No. 27 this offseason for coach Deion Sanders and No. 10 of the spring. Hestera is the third spring addition to the wide receiver room, joining Campbell Fighting Camel standout Sincere Brown and former five-star Florida State Seminole Hykeem Williams.

Hestera has black and gold pumping through his veins. He was born in Boulder 13 years after his father, Dan Hestera, won a national championship with Colorado in 1990. His uncle, Dave Hestera, earned a first-team All-Big Eight selection as a tight end for the Buffaloes in 1983 before being drafted to the NFL by the Kansas City Chiefs.

Jack started his high school career with Ralston Valley in Arvada, Colorado, before moving to Cedar Park High School in Texas for a stellar senior campaign.

In 2021, Hestera joined the Buffs as a walk-on with plenty of lineage but zero stars to his name. He redshirted, plugged away and eventually found the gridiron by 2022, reeling in 14 catches for 157 yards for coach Karl Dorrell's dismal 1-11 bunch.

When "Coach Prime" arrived, Hestera was suddenly dismissed to make room for Travis Hunter, Jimmy Horn Jr. and others at receiver.

Charlotte came calling that offseason, and Hestera pieced together a solid campaign out of the slot with his new team, totaling 28 grabs for 349 yards and three touchdown receptions. The effort earned him another trip to the portal and an uptick to the Mountain West Conference with Utah State, where he compiled 24 receptions for 340 yards (14.2 yards per catch) and four touchdowns in 2024.

The Buffs are looking for more juice in a receiver room that lost a swathe of NFL-bound production last year. A Heisman Trophy and Biletnikoff Award-winning supernova in Hunter joined the Jacksonville Jaguars, Horn will blister down sidelines with the Carolina Panthers and route-running technician LaJohntay Wester was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens.

Hestera could again provide a spark for his first home, this time for a Colorado program with significant renovations. The Buffs will have plenty of opportunity for snaps out wide after the quartet of Hunter, Horn, Wester and Will Sheppard hit the road.

While competition will be stiff throughout the summer, proving it in the fall is what the Buffaloes' receiver room lacks. Omarion Miller and Tulsa Golden Hurricanes transfer Joseph Williams are likely the first options, yet both lack a large enough sample size to warrant trust for consistency. Drelon Miller showed flashes from the slot as a freshman, but his lack of size warrants additions elsewhere.

Hestera's 6-0, 185-pound frame may not jump off the page either, but his familiarity with the region, relentless work ethic and solid production elsewhere could create a triumphant return for the fabled fifth-year son of Folsom Field royalty. If nothing else, Hestera (31 career college games) could be the influx of experience that Colorado's pass-catching youngsters direly need.