Houston assistant defensive line coach Nathon Trawick had a strong message on one of Coach Prime's biggest Colorado football transfer portal additions, five-foot-11, 290-pound defensive tackle Chidozie Nwankwo, or as he was referred to in Southeast Texas, the "Block Bully" -- the Richmond (TX) native is ready to be on the field for as long as the Buffs staff will let him.
""I think he's gonna be an instant impact," said Trawick (h/t The Coloradoan). "You're talking about a guy who's played four years and been extremely durable. He's a nose tackle who's in extremely great shape and when he plays there (Colorado), he's going to be able to play 40, 50 snaps a game. That's the type of shape he's in.
"There's not a lot of defensive tackles in the country who can be an every-down player and play that many snaps. You're getting a guy who is well conditioned, who is gonna stop the run and is gonna be a problem when he's getting 1-on-1 blocks. He's got incredible athleticism for his size, and he gets after it, man. But the biggest thing about him is his IQ. He's a four-year starter, obviously, but he's just a smart football player. Working with him over the course of this year, he understands the game, and out of all the interior defensive linemen I've worked with, he understands the bigger picture."
Colorado football defensive coaching staff still undecided
While we know that Vincent Dancy will replace Nick Williams as defensive ends coach, we don't know who will be the defensive coordinator or defensive tackles coach -- with Sal Sunseri heading east to join Charlotte -- heading into 2024.
Warren Sapp will seemingly be hired in some capacity, but whether that's as the Buffs' DC or merely an analyst is unclear. Perhaps Mike Zimmer is also an option, but that's not been heavily rumored up until now despite the close Coach Prime ties.
The talent is in place, but the leadership is not. And for some reason, we haven't heard much about why.