Woelk: Awuzie, Witherspoon Drive To Succeed Will Translate Well In NFL

BOULDER — I can't claim to know what NFL scouts did or didn't see in Colorado defensive backs Chidobe Awuzie and Ahkello Witherspoon.

Those folks get paid lots and lots of money to decide when to spend one of their very valuable draft choices on a college football player — and even with the vast amounts of money and time they invest in the process, they are wrong just about as often as they are right.

For me to second-guess that kind of investment would not be prudent on my part.

But this much I do know — two Colorado defensive backs who played a significant role in producing one of the more dramatic turnarounds in college football history are going to make someone look very, very good.

Awuzie and Witherspoon will succeed. They will have successful NFL careers not just because they are outstanding players (which they are), but because they have that intangible quality that spells the difference between success and failure in a league where everyone is talented and everyone was a star.

They know what it was like to be virtually ignored as high school players. Awuzie was a lightly recruited defensive back whose only true Power Five offer came from Mike MacIntyre when he took the job at Colorado. Witherspoon had to go the junior college route for a year before he could convince "big" schools to take a chance.

Simply, they've been underestimated before — and believe me, that chip on their shoulder hasn't disappeared.

MacIntyre obviously knew something when he offered them scholarships. Now, the former Dallas Cowboys assistant will see one of his players head to Dallas to earn his "star" while another of his players will head back home to the Bay Area, where he will play for the team he followed as a youngster.

CU's coach is obviously proud — and for good reason. He saw ability that other coaches  missed. He saw heart that others ignored. He invested his faith and trust in those players and they returned the favor by helping him once again work his rebuilding magic at a place that had hit bottom.

Simply, they helped establish a foundation of success where even the most ardent of fans wondered if it was possible.

"Chido is everything that represents a true student athlete," MacIntyre said. "He's one of the guys who leaves the legacy of turning around our program."

MacIntyre had similar words for Witherspoon, a player who just a year ago was on nobody's NFL Draft radar.

"He was a young man who just kept developing," MacIntyre said. "I saw great skills in him and he had a great work ethic and developed those skills. In another year he's going to be bigger and stronger and he's going to be an excellent, excellent NFL player."

Both made plenty of memorable plays in their careers, particularly in their senior seasons, when they helped the Buffs improve from 4-9 in 2015 to a 10-4 finish in 2016 that included a Pac-12 South title and an Alamo Bowl berth.

But the two plays I will always remember as symbolizing their time in Boulder?

For Witherspoon, it's easy. Less than a minute to go in Oregon and the Ducks at the doorstep of CU's end zone. After battling back to take the lead, the Buffs were in danger of allowing Oregon to escape with a win — until Witherspoon went up up in the corner of the end zone and came down with a game-clinching interception. In an instant, Witherspoon silenced a capacity Autzen Stadium crowd and the Buffs sent a message to the nation that Colorado was back.

In years past, the pass would have gone for a touchdown. The Buffs would have come close but been turned away at the end, left to endure another heartbreaking moment.

But Witherspoon and the Buffs had had enough of those moments. Witherspoon made the play, one that will always be remembers as a seminal moment in a foundational season.

As for Awuzie, lots of folks will have different favorite memories. A sack of Michigan QB Wilton Speight that produced a fumble and Derek McCartney touchdown. Two huge third-down stops against Stanford. A blocked field goal against UCLA. A fourth-down stop near the goal line against Utah.

Simply, whenever CU's defense was making a big play, Awuzie was usually somewhere in the neighborhood.

But the play I'll remember? One tackle. One tackle after a 93-yard gain by the opponent.

One tackle that epitomized Awuzie and the Buffs' turnaround season.

Last game of the regular season, Colorado and Utah squaring off with the Pac-12 South title on the line. The Buffs had just broken a 13-13 tie to take a 20-13 lead — only to see Utah's Kyle Fulks take the ensuing kick and head for the end zone on the first play of the fourth quarter. Fulks broke for the northeast corner of Folsom Field and you could hear the air escaping from the crowd. You could see momentum heading back to the Utes' sidelines.

But Awuzie wasn't paying attention to the crowd — and momentum never had a chance when matched against Awuzie's determination. From seemingly out of nowhere, he chased Fulks down. A 10-yard lead became five, then 3, then — boom. Awuzie knocked Fulks out of bounds at the Colorado 3-yard line.

Four plays later, the Utes settled for a field goal. Two series later, the Buffs clinched the win — and division title — with a defensive touchdown.

"That play shows who he is," MacIntyre said. "He gave every ounce of effort and soul he had on that play to run that guy down and that turned the momentum for us for good. That epitomizes what he did for our program. That's a great example of what he meant to our program and what kind of player and young man he is."

Indeed.

That's why Chidobe Awuzie, Ahkello Witherspoon and fellow "Moneygang" member Tedric Thompson (drafted in Saturday's fourth round) will succeed in the NFL. They will succeed because they know what it takes when opportunity isn't handed to them on a silver platter. They know what it takes to earn it.

"Tedric and Chido are prime examples of our program changers — and that will help them be successful in the NFL," MacIntyre said Saturday morning. "They won't offer any excuses, they won't have regrets. They will just put their head down and work. They won't need everybody singing their praises. They have that internal fortitude to turn something around."

Now, they'll simply do it again at the next level.

Just watch.

Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu