Shedeur Sanders believes Colorado football transfer DL Chidozie Nwankwo is "definitely" a star player while speaking with KTRK's Joe Gleason during a morning practice.
"Chidozie! Big guy! He's somebody I would not let sack me," Sanders said (h/t Marca). "I always ID Chidozie. He's definitely a star player. I'm excited to see him in camp and get out there and compete. We've got new and improved O-linemen and D-linemen, so it's going to be real fun. Day-to-day."
One of Nwankwo's former teammates at Houston, Tank Jenkins, explained how Nwankwo got the nickname "block bully."
"If he puts his hands on you, he's going to stop you," Jenkins prefaced before saying, "That's where he gets the 'Block Bully' from because people try to double-team him and he won't go anywhere. He'll just sit right there in the gaps."
Chidozie Nwankwo an every down player according to his former Houston coach
Houston assistant defensive line coach Nathon Trawick went in-depth about Nwankwo's "block bully" nickname in January. According to Trawick, Nwankwo is an every down player with the chance to make an instant impact.
"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."
Everyone who speaks on Nwankwo has high hopes for his time in Boulder. Let's see if that translates to the field.