The season opener can’t get here soon enough for Chidozie Nwankwo.
A senior defensive lineman who transferred to Colorado in January, Nwankwo’s smile became a bit brighter when talking about kickoff.
“I feel great. I’m ready to go,” he told BuffZone. “I’m not gonna lie to you, especially with everybody in D-line room, I’m just ready to go, ready to go to war.”
The 5-foot-11, 290-pound Nwankwo is one of the leaders of a re-tooled defensive line that CU is counting on this season, which opens Aug. 29 against North Dakota State at Folsom Field (6 p.m., ESPN).
“We’re just building depth and I want the guys to be nice and solid,” said Hall of Famer Warren Sapp, who is working with the line as a graduate assistant. “Because the one thing that I did see last year before I turned the TV off was we couldn’t stop the run, and that won’t happen with me here. We’re gonna earn our right to rush (the passer) by stopping the run.”
CU allowed 176.4 rushing yards per game last year, ranking 110th nationally, and Nwankwo is a key to the effort of changing that.
In four seasons at Houston, he played in 41 games with 32 starts. He had just five sacks, but was especially tough against the run, racking up 95 tackles and 13 tackles for loss. He had 25 tackles and five TFLs last season.
Nicknamed the “Block Bully” because of his role in trying to beat offensive linemen, Nwankwo is taking full advantage of learning from Sapp and first-year defensive line coach Damione Lewis, who was a 10-year NFL veteran.
“Already since January, I’ve learned tremendously — a tremendous amount from just being around them and seeing how they do things on and off the field, how they carry themselves,” Nwankwo said. “They’ve been a great help of showing me how things are, how things will be in the league, and stuff like that.”
Nwankwo is one of several new transfers on the line, along with fellow seniors Rayyan Buell (Ohio), Taurean Carter (Arkansas) and BJ Green (Arizona State) and juniors Anquin Barnes (Alabama) and Tawfiq Thomas (Louisville).
The line also features two returners in senior Shane Cokes and junior Amari McNeill. Nwankwo’s brother, Chijoke, is a freshman walk-on.
It’s a group that Nwankwo has never played with and he said it’s motivating to prove himself against a new set of teammates.
“It does (motivate), because they don’t know me and I don’t know them, but we know of each other,” he said. “I want to show them what I’m capable of doing, just like they want to show me what they’re capable of doing. So it’s just competition every day, and that’s how we get each other better.”
Nwankwo didn’t want to compare the line at CU with the group he played with at Houston, but said he’s impressed with the group the Buffs have on the offensive and defensive lines.
“We can definitely get the job done on both sides of the ball,” he said. “That’s why every day we just compete and just try to get each other better, as best as we can. As far as the D-line, we just gotta keep going. That’s all we gotta do. Keep it pushing. Keep it going and we’re gonna be good.”
Nwankwo said it’s been “a blessing” to “build this team, my new brothers.”
While building as a group, Nwankwo feels he is a better player than he was a year ago and he prepares for his CU debut.
“Definitely, all I’m doing right now is really just perfecting my craft,” he said. “Getting all those little details out the way so I can be ready to go this season.”
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