2015 Football Roster
Sep 20 (Sat)
TBA
Chidobe Awuzie
- Position:
- Defensive Back
- Height:
- 6-0
- Weight:
- 195
- Class:
- Junior
- Hometown:
- San Jose, Calif.
- High School:
- Oak Grove
AT COLORADO: Career—He finished his career with 273 tackles, 22nd all-time at Colorado, with his 226 unassisted tackles the seventh-highest figure and his 26 tackles for loss the most by a defensive back (as were his nine quarterback sacks). He also finished second in career third down stops (47) and fifth in pass deflections (35). One of the most versatile players in recent memory at CU, as he played all four positions in the secondary: cornerback, free and strong safety and nickel as well as some outside linebacker. He played in the 2017 Senior Bowl and became the first CU player to be invited to attend the NFL Draft, which he will do in Philadelphia on April 28.
2016 (Sr.)—Co-recipient of CU’s 2016 Zack Jordan Award that goes to the Most Valuable Player (with quarterback Sefo Liufau). He earned Associated Press first-team All-Pac-12 honors (second-team by the league coaches and Phil Steele’s College Football). Marquee player in CU's secondary that ranked No. 5 in the country in pass efficiency defense at 104.3 while opposing quarterbacks completed just 49.8 percent of their passes averaged only 193.6 yards per game (ranking 20th nationally). He suffered a turf toe ahead of CU’s bowl game and wasn’t himself against Oklahoma State in the Alamo Bowl, where he had four tackles (three solo) with one pass deflection. He finished the regular season with 60 tackles (48 solo), four sacks (tying his own single-season record for the most by any CU defensive back), two forced fumbles and his 13 passes broken up. He also had one interception and 19 third-down stops, ranking second on the team in that category. He played 849 snaps on defense, ranking third on the squad, and led CU in special teams points with 27. In the season opener against Colorado State he led the team in tackles with eight, had one tackle for a loss, broke up a pass and recorded an interception which he returned 14 yards. In week three at No. 4 Michigan, his sack of quarterback Wilton Speight forced a fumble that the Buffs recovered and returned 18 yards for a touchdown to give CU a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. He finished the Michigan game with five solo tackles, one third down stop and a pass breakup in addition to his sack and forced fumble. In win over Arizona State, he recorded the seventh sack of his career (second of the season), which made his CU’s all-time quarterback sack leader – among defensive backs. In the 10-5 win at Stanford when CU’s defense held the Cardinal to just 263 yards, he had six tackles, a tackle for a loss, two third-down stops and two pass breakups. On Nov. 3 against UCLA, he had five tackles (all solo), a sack that went for a loss of 10 yards and also blocked a Bruin field goal attempt in the 20-10 victory. The blocked field goal was CU’s only of the season. He was a candidate for postseason hardware such as the Jim Thorpe Award (he was one of 39 on the official preseason watch list for the top defensive back in the nation), as well as the two honors presented to the nation’s top defensive player (one of 88 on the list for the Bronko Nagurski Award and was one of 90 nominated for the Chuck Bednarik Award). He was also listed as the No. 89 player overall in the Top 100 College Players by nfl.com, the 19th-ranked defensive back and the No. 11 cornerback. He was the co-recipient of the Eddie Crowder Award as selected by the coaches for his outstanding leadership during spring practices.
2015 (Jr.)—He played in all 13 games (12 starts) in being named second-team All-Pac-12 by the Associated Press and the league coaches. He was also a first-team All-Colorado selection by the state’s NFF chapter as well as being the recipient of the Dave Jones Award, selected by the coaches for being CU’s most outstanding player on defense. He played a team-high 897 snaps on defense, at a combination between cornerback and the nickel position, finishing second on the Buffs with 90 tackles (78 solo). He had a team-high 13 tackles for loss (four quarterback sacks), the first time a defensive back ever led CU in that category dating back to 1969, when it was first tracked. He also had a team-best eight tackles for zero, giving him a total of 21 tackles at or behind the line of scrimmage. In addition, he was second on the team in pass deflections (10) and third down stops (10, three of which were fourth down stops). He had two interceptions, one at Hawai’i and the other on a fourth down late in the game at Oregon State that sealed CU’s 17-13 win (he was CU’s Athlete of the Week for his game against the Beavers, as he also had eight tackles, including a sack and two tackles for zero, and two pass breakups). He also had three hurries, three chasedowns (near-sacks), three touchdown saves and a forced fumble. He was in on 10 or more tackles three times (season high of 11 at Washington State, with 10 of the solo variety), with 10 against Oregon (all solo) and USC (eight unassisted). He had another seven tackles on special teams (four solo, one inside-the-20). He was one of 12 players on CU’s leadership council, which essentially served as team captains.
2014 (Soph.)—He started in the first nine games of the season, but missed the last three after suffering a lacerated kidney in practice (Nov. 4). At the time of the injury, he had just assumed the team lead in tackles but still finished third with 64 (57 solo, with two for losses). He had team-highs of 11 third down stops and 10 touchdown saves, and his eight pass deflections were third on the team; he also had four tackles for zero, a fumble recovery, a quarterback hurry and a quarterback chase down. He had at least five tackles in the nine games he appeared in, with a season-high 11 against UCLA (eight solo); he had nine on three other occasions, against Arizona State, California (all solo) and Oregon State. He had a career-high four passes broken up at Massachusetts, and had three third down stops against Colorado State and Oregon State (with two in three other games). He played 608 snaps on the year, as he had sat out just three (at the end of the USC game) until he was injured. He had seven tackles and a third down stop in helping the Black team defeat the Gold, 21-17, in the spring game. The coaches selected him as the recipient of the Hale Irwin Award for the spring, presented to the most improved defensive back.
2013 (Fr.)—He saw action in all 12 games, including seven starts (six at the nickel position and one at left cornerback). Though fellow true frosh Addison Gillam set numerous school freshman records, he made his own mark: he played the third-most snaps on defense by any frosh in CU history (643), and became just the 13th freshman to record 50 or more tackles for a season, finishing with 59, the sixth-highest ever total (43 of which were solo stops). That number was also good for sixth on the team, fourth-most by a defensive back; he also had five tackles for loss, including a quarterback sack, with another stop for zero gain. He added seven third down stops (tied for the second-most ever by a freshman), four pass deflections, three touchdown saves, two forced fumbles and a recovery. On special teams, he added another two assists. He had a career/season-high 12 tackles against Arizona, along with eight against Cal and six against Central Arkansas (all solo), when he had one of his two forced fumbles (the other was at Utah).
HIGH SCHOOL—He earned PrepStar All- West Region honors as a senior, when he also garnered SuperPrep preseason All-Far West honors (ranked as the No. 146 player in the California-Hawai’i-Nevada region). He was a first-team All-Area performer on defense as selected by the San Jose Mercury-News, while the Contra-Costa Times selected him to its “Cream of the Crop” team, ranking him No. 13 of the 20 players on its list. He was selected as the Blossom Valley Athletic League Mount Hamilton Division Senior of the Year. He earned first-team All-League honors as a junior and senior, and was Oak Grove’s Underclassmen of the Year. As a senior, he rushed for 1,285 yards on 138 attempts (9.3 per), scoring 14 touchdowns with a long run of 67 yards (he had six 100-yard and two 200-yard games); he caught 18 passes for 487 yards and seven scores with a long of 84 (two 100-yard games). He was third in his league in rushing and first in scoring (128 points on 21 TDs and a 2-point conversion). He also completed his only passing attempt for 38 yards, returned five punts for 60 yards and five kickoffs for 113 yards. On defense playing cornerback, he racked up 69 tackles (25 solo, three for losses), with four interceptions, returning two for touchdowns, 12 pass deflections, four blocked kicks and two forced fumbles. As a junior, he gained 249 yards on 23 carries, scoring three times, while catching 13 balls for 211 yards and four TDs; he had 58 tackles playing free safety on defense, with five blocked kicks, an interception, and a fumble recovery which he returned 80 yards for a touchdown. He was called up to the varsity late in his sophomore season for the stretch run. A speedster off the corner as evidenced by 10 blocked kicks in his prep career (five punt, three field goal and two PAT kicks). Top games as a senior: in a 49-20 win over Sobrato, he had 13 rushes for 203 yard and three touchdowns, with seven tackles, an interception, forced fumble and a blocked field goal on defense; in a 42-20 win over Santa Teresa, he accomplished the rare on any level, the 100 double-double, with 158 yards rushing (16 attempts) and 101 receiving (three catches), scoring a combined four touchdowns; and in a 49-35 win over Leland, he had a career-high 205 rushing yards (17 carries, 2 TD), with a season/career-high nine tackles and an interception. Top games as a junior: in a 42-37 win over Pioneer, he had four rushes for 98 yards and two touchdowns, two receptions for 24 yards and a third score and six tackles on defense; and in a 28-0 win over Independence, he had a season-high nine tackles with a fumble recovery which he returned 80 yards. Under Coach Jay Braun, Oak Grove was 10-1 his senior year and 9-2 his junior season, going undefeated (7-0) both years in claiming back-to-back BVAL Mount Hamilton Division titles; OGHS was 8-3 his sophomore year, 2-1 after his call up. He also lettered three times, his freshman through junior years in basketball, and as a junior in track (sprints, jumps and relays); he owned career bests of 21.7 in the 200-meter dash and 22-1 in the long jump.
ACADEMICS—He graduated with a degree in Business (Management) in December 2016, accomplishing the work in just three-and-a-half years. He was selected as the Santa Clara County’s National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete (Northern California Chapter) his senior year, as he owned a grade point average of 3.13.
PERSONAL—He was born May 24, 1995 in San Jose, Calif. His hobbies include playing basketball, ping pong and video games and watching anime (Japanese cartoons). An older brother, Dubem, is a junior cornerback at Waldorf (Iowa) College. While not related, his godmother’s nephew is Nnamdi Asomugha, a longtime NFL cornerback with Oakland and Philadelphia who played his college ball at Cal-Berkeley. He has been active in community service in such areas as trash pickup, he has also volunteered at an area shelter, working with the homeless and indigent.
(Name is pronounced chih-doe-beh ah-wooz-yeh.)
