Chidobe Awuzie hauls in spectacular interception against Bengals

Unless you follow the Dallas Cowboys, few NFL fans have probably ever heard of Chidobe Awuzie. That is until now. Saturday night in a preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals, the Cowboys second-year defensive back and former Colorado Buffaloes star had perhaps the play of the preseason thus far. In the closing minute of the second quarter, Awuzie leaped and tipped a Jeff Driskel pass one-handed before coming down with an incredible interception, his first of the preseason.

Colorado Buffaloes fans have been well aware of Awuzie’s athletic abilities for quite some time now. The San Jose, Calif. native was a four-year starter and played all four positions in the secondary during his time in Boulder. As a senior in 2016, Awuzie was a key contributor on a Buffaloes team that won 10 games and reached the school’s first ever Pac-12 Championship game. He finished his career with 273 total tackles, nine sacks, three interceptions and 35 pass deflections.

Following his success in Boulder, Awuzie was selected by the Cowboys with the 60th pick (second round) in the 2017 NFL Draft. In his rookie season, Awuzie saw action in 10 games (six starts) and recorded 25 tackles, seven passes defended and an interception. This season, per the team’s first unofficial depth chart released on August 9th, Awuzie is projected to start at cornerback for the Cowboys alongside Byron Jones.