Colorado lost tallest player in Buffs history to transfer portal
Colorado football lost the tallest player in Buffs’ program history on December 1 when Gerad “Tank” Christian-Lichtenhan announced his intentions to enter the transfer portal, as BuffZone’s Brian Howell relayed.
“Colorado’s Gerad Christian-Lichtenhan has been a fixture in the starting lineup for most of the past two seasons,” Howell prefaced before saying, “The tallest player in CU football history has decided to finish his career elsewhere, however. On Friday, Lichtenhan announced that he will enter the transfer portal, which opens on Monday for all players.”
Lichtenhan played in all 12 games at left tackle in 2023; starting 11 of them and playing roughly half the snaps in the one game (against UCLA) he came off the bench for.
Gerad Christian-Lichtenhan calls playing for Colorado football ‘special’
Lichtenhan clearly values the time he spent in Boulder under both Karl Dorrell and Coach Prime — and perhaps even Mel Tucker for all we know –, specifically shouting out Deion Sanders’ staff in a heartfelt goodbye to the University of Colorado in a post on X.
Thank you buff nation pic.twitter.com/ZheMFbjwVY
— Gerad Lichtenhan (@GeradLichtenhan) December 1, 2023
“Anyone that’s been here knows how special of a place Boulder is and I have been so fortunate to call it home over the last four years,” Lichtenhan wrote. “I’m incredibly thankful for the opportunities I’ve had to represent and play for this team and in front of this loyal fanbase. After some deep thought and heartfelt conversations with my family, I have decided to enter the transfer portal.
“Thank you to Coach Prime and the entire coaching staff, the excitement you brought back for this program has energized a community and I truly wish you all the utmost success going forward.”
It was a classy goodbye from the not-so-gentle giant. Lichtenhan will have one year of eligibility remaining, though how much attention he’ll get after Coach Prime repeatedly trashed the offensive line throughout the 2023 season is unclear.
With that said, it’s hard to imagine a six-foot-10, 315-pound veteran will be waiting long for an opportunity.