Tag: Na’im Rodman

Na’im Rodman becomes 23rd CU Buffs player to enter transfer portal this offseason

Colorado lost another defensive lineman to the transfer portal

Colorado’s spring game is this Saturday and a ton of fans, alumni and media will be in attendance at a sold-out Folsom Field.

However, some Buffs players are still tossing their names into the transfer portal. This time, it is defensive lineman Na’im Rodman, who became the 23rd CU player to hit the portal on Wednesday this offseason.

Rodman totaled 53 tackles and started 17 games for the Buffs throughout his time in Boulder, so this is a tough loss for Coach Prime. On the other hand, the Buffs have added a ton of talent this offseason and are still active in the portal despite spring practice being underway.

Rodman should have no problem finding another program, especially after he was one of the few bright spots for the Buffs’ defense over the past couple of seasons.

Before this open portal window closes on May 1, more Buffs might decide to transfer as it becomes evident that their playing time will diminish with a ton of talent coming to Boulder.

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Gerald Chatman taking Colorado’s pass rush to ‘new level’

With Gerald Chatman now leading the D-line, Colorado’s pass rush is looking much better

As Colorado’s first preseason scrimmage progressed, the Buffs’ pass rush seemed to grow stronger.

Alvin Williams, Shakuan Bowser and Quinn Perry each had a quarterback hurry, plus Na’im Rodman and Chance Main combined for a sack, according to my (very) unofficial record keeping.

All of that success is no fluke.

Rodman spoke to the media following the scrimmage and said that CU’s ability to apply pressure has taken a step forward with Gerald Chatman now coaching the D-line.

“He’s a great coach,” Rodman said. “He’s part of the reason why our pass rush has gone to a new level and our run game technique, all that.”

And as a reminder, Colorado tallied a Pac-12-low 13 sacks last season, making the pass rush a critical area to improve upon in 2022. But through 10 preseason practices, things are looking better.

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CU Buffs injury updates prior to Arizona State

Injury notes ahead of Colorado’s Pac-12 opener at ASU

Following a Minnesota game that left a few Buffaloes banged up, Colorado has recovered for the most part ahead of its Week 4 contest at Arizona State.

Na’im Rodman, DL: Suffered a shoulder injury vs. the Gophers and was removed from the game. He was a limited participant in practice this week but did not suffer any structural damage. Karl Dorrell expects him to play against ASU.

Colby Pursell, OL: Was under the weather against Minnesota and did not play. Dorrell said he returned to practice on Tuesday and hopes to have him back for Saturday night.

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Max Wray OL: The Ohio State transfer got “dinged” last week and is now in “protocol” according to Dorrell.

Chris Miller, DB: Suffered a season-ending injury in the loss to Minnesota.

Also of note: Offensive lineman Frank Fillip, who is recovering from a torn labrum and played limited snaps in his season debut against Minnesota, is continuing to increase his workload.

Scouting the Minnesota Golden Gophers

Colorado’s week 3 opponent hasn’t lost a non-conference game since 2015.

Just like Colorado, a 1-1 record sits beside the Minnesota Golden Gophers heading into week three. Both schools suffered their lone loss to a top-5 team; CU is coming off a narrow loss to then-No. 5 A&M and Minnesota fell to then-No. 4 Ohio State 45-31 in its opener.

“They’re a really good team, they played Ohio State really well,” said Karl Dorrell on Minnesota. “They probably felt that they didn’t play as well last week (a 31-26 win over Miami (OH)), I’m sure they’ll be working on getting some things fixed just like from our standpoint as well coming off the Texas A&M game.”

Leading the Gophers offense will be senior quarterback Tanner Morgan. Through two games, Morgan has completed 52% of his passes for 317 yards and three touchdowns. But according to Dorrell, it’s the Gophers ground game that the Buffs should be worried about. After senior running back Mohamad Ibrahim suffered a season-ending injury in week one, sophomore Trey Potts stepped up for Minnesota against the RedHawks. Potts ran for 178 yards and two touchdowns in his first collegiate start.

Dec 12, 2020; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers coach P.J. Fleck (right) and linebacker James Gordon IV (13) celebrate after victory over the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports

“They’re definitely a run-first offense,” Dorrell said. “They really churn out yards and they’re pretty efficient at doing that… They use a lot of tackles to play the tight end positions. They try to use a big offensive front and they try to make defenses defend them. That’s going to be a tremendous challenge again for our defense this week.”

In fact, the Gophers O-line has the most combined starts (193) than any other FBS program.

As for Minnesota’s defense, Dorrell expects a similar “structure” to what the Buffs saw against Texas A&M. Explosive plays will be hard to come by on Saturday and no yard will come easy. Linebacker Mariano Sori-Marin has racked up 16 total tackles in two games while Tyler Nubin and Terell Smith help control the secondary. Minnesota has, however, allowed a total of 71 points compared to CU’s 17 surrendered.

Fifth-year head coach P.J. Fleck leads Minnesota, which has won its last 20 non-conference games. None of those were against CU as the Buffaloes last played and beat the Gophers in 1992.