Santana Hopper holds the DT · Starter spot in Colorado Buffaloes’s defensive tackle room. Where he sits among the room’s front-line roles:

Santana Hopper is a defensive tackle from Shelby, North Carolina, who attended Shelby High School before playing college football at Appalachian State and Tulane. At Appalachian State from 2022 to 2025, he appeared in 26 games across three seasons, starting 16. In 2024, he started all 10 games played, recording 36 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, and 5.0 sacks while earning All-Sun Belt first-team honors. During his 2025 season at Tulane, Hopper played in all 14 games with 13 starts, finishing with 31 total tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, and one fumble recovery. He transfers to Colorado as an undergraduate with one year of eligibility remaining.

App State2022 – 2024

Tulane2025

Colorado2026 — present