Nose tackle is a quiet force for UH defense
His defensive coordinator describes the position as the “dirtiest, hardest job” on the football field. His head coach calls it “thankless.”
As the nose tackle for the University of Houston, Chidozie Nwankwo’s job is to take on double-team blocks on practically every play.
“Actually, I love it,” Nwankwo said. “If it’s easy, then something is wrong. That’s how I see it.”
The view from the trenches is one most rarely can see or appreciate. You often must scroll down the stat sheet to find Nwankwo’s name.
Few tackles.
No sacks. No quarterback hurries. On UH’s defensive line known as Sack Ave., Nwankwo (pronounced wahn-kwuh) is the neighbor who puts on his hard hat and punches the time clock every day.
“The box score doesn’t always tell the job he’s able to do and how he’s able to impact the game,” defensive coordinator Doug Belk said. “He typically dominates the guy in front of him.”
That was on display Saturday, as Nwankwo’s presence in the middle was a big reason the UH defense was able to shutdown Navy’s triple-option attack. Nwankwo, a sophomore from Foster High, matched a career high with five tackles (a mark he set the previous game against Memphis) and was named the Cougars’ defensive player of the game.
“Dot’s just different,” head coach Dana Holgorsen said. “He does a thankless job.”
No wonder Nwankwo is called “Block Bully,” a nickname given to him by his father, Corey.
On most plays, Nwankwo’s job is to get in a fourpoint stance, occupy two offensive linemen in the middle and allow for other teammates to make plays (middle linebacker Donavan Mutin had a game-high 13 tackles against Navy).
“He eats double teams for a living,” Belk said.
After Belk’s comment was put on social media Tuesday, one former area high school coordinator who coached against Nwankwo responded: “That’s why we tripleteamed him.”
Asked how he often faces double- and tripleteam assignments, Nwankwo just smiles. That’s been the Life of ‘Dot’ since he can remember. One-on-one matchups? “I don’t get many of those, maybe on pass plays,” Nwankwo said. “Probably once or twice a game.”
How would Nwankwo describe his role?
“I feel like my job is to be the rock of the defense,” he added. “I feel like people see me embracing what I do, because I have the hardest job taking on double teams a lot and stuff like that, and they see that I love doing that and it makes them play their roles.”
Belk refers to it as “changing the math,” the ability for the Cougars — most of the time involving Nwankwo or Jamykal Neal — to change blocking schemes and impact the game to allow more aggressive play up front.
“No matter who we play, he’s one of the most dominant guys on the field,” Belk said of Nwankwo. “Sometimes the stats don’t show that, but if you turn on the tape you have to account for him and the power, effort and the consistency he plays with.”
As a freshman in 2020, Nwankwo posted 11 tackles in eight games (the season was shortened because of the coronavirus pandemic), becoming the first freshman to start on UH’s defensive line since Ed Oliver. Nwankwo followed with 22 tackles and two sacks in 2021. He has 14 tackles in six games this season, 10 of those coming in the last two games.
Nwankwo’s physical style of play can be traced back to a Class 5A state champion wrestling career at Foster. Many of his wresting techniques translate to the football field, Nwankwo said, when it comes to leverage and stamina. At 5-11 and 290 pounds, Belk said Nwankwo is “one of the strongest (players) pound for pound on the team.”
“I’ll tell you this, I think the biggest thing is his mindset,” Belk said. “He’s physical by nature, very aggressive in how he plays the game. We ask a lot of him, and he takes that upon himself to be physical.”
Nwankwo credits Mutin and former defensive linemen Payton Turner and Logan Hall for providing guidance when he arrived in 2020. He also benefited last summer from his first full offseason after arriving at UH during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Being able to be with my teammates is a different feeling,” Nwankwo said. “That’s what I missed the most. I feel like they helped me get right this offseason.”
Most of Nwankwo’s gratitude was saved for defensive line coach Brian Early.
“He’s still helping me to this day. He means a lot to me,” Nwankwo said. “I just thank him for not giving up on me. He never gives up. He has that much respect in my heart, in my life.”
And for doing all the “dirty” work, Nwankwo has earned the respect of teammates.
“We love Dot,” nickel back Jayce Rogers said. “Dot does all the dirty work and doesn’t really get noticed. You’ve got to respect the way he approaches it and the way he handles his job is top tier. He does a lot of work for a lot of people that people don’t really understand or see.”