Patience With Gatkuoth Paying Off

FORT COLLINS – They couldn't wait to get him on the field.

The problem was Nuer Gatkuoth couldn't play last year, so he was relegated to working on his craft while biding his time. Which is now, and Colorado State defensive line coach Buddha Williams said the patience was a virtue.

"I'm not surprised with the production he's having. I know he doesn't have any sacks right now, but the other stuff he's doing is remarkable," Williams said. "I think once he gets one, they're going to start falling in his lap. It's coming because we had to clean up some stuff in his rush lanes, and once we clean that stuff up and get more detailed in that, it will help him."

Gatkuoth leads Colorado State's defensive linemen in tackles with 20, and his 3.5 tackles for loss are tied for second on the team with Ayden Hector behind Mohamed Kamara's 8.0.

He made his first career start in the opener and has remained a constant bookend to Kamara. He used his time last year to the best of his ability, and while he was slowed with an injury in spring camp, he hit fall camp ready to perform.

Watching him play, one can see he's gaining steam, making him a bigger factor every week. When he's not on the field, he's still working, all of which he says has helped him be prepared for his first collegiate season.

"I think just watching film and studying your plays. You know what you do and when to do it," Gatkuoth said. "The more I play, the more the game slows down, so I just need to keep getting better."

While Williams has a major hand in his development, Kamara is taking a very active role with him, Mukendi Wa-Kalonji and the rest of the young defensive ends. They consider him a mentor, which Kamara accepts with honor.

"I've been here for a long time. I think I have a few years with Mukendi and two years with Nuer," Kamara said. "It's great to see them grow. It's great because I get to see them grow and whatever they try to do, I try to do too. They're pushing me as much as I'm trying to push them.

"I'm very impressed. Hopefully once I'm gone, they can do the same thing I do. The way I pour myself into practice and the way I play, hopefully they can do that. They can be the next guy. I'm going for the sack record, and hopefully they'll beat my record."

Take Tuesday for instance. Practice was over, but Kamara sat on the field making sure Kenyon Agurs was doing bear crawls across the field the right way. He's always lurking, which Gatkuoth appreciates – to a degree.

In his family, he's the big brother. Now he understands how his younger siblings feel.

"He's like an annoying big brother. He'll tell you when you do bad, but he always come from a place of love," he said. "He's been a great mentor to me during my time here.

"To have him as that figure is really good for me. I get to learn from him. The more I learn from him, the better I play."

Norvell is starting to see similarities between the two. Like Kamara, he said Gatkuoth has a relentless drive at practice who makes constant improvement. He credits some of that to the youngster mirroring his mentor's habits.

And just like people looked at Kamara early in his career, the feeling is the best is yet to come.

"He's been disruptive. He's so long, and he's very fast and he has the ability to be slippery," Norvell said. "I think his pass rush is improving because he works so hard. Pass rush is more about being relentless than anything else. Nuer's got that quality in him because he works so hard. He's one of my favorite players because he never complains about anything. He brings a great attitude to practice every day, and I just know that's going pay off for him in the long run."

However, they are all awaiting a short-term payoff which Gatkuoth hasn't quite experienced yet – his first sack.

He's been close a few times, being credited with two quarterback hurries on the season, and he's used his drive and length to deflect two passes at the line of scrimmage. But a sack so far has eluded him.

"Last game, I think I had three QB hits. I'm just closer and closer," he said. "Every game I'm getting closer and closer, so I feel like, hey, these next couple of games I'm going to get me one."

As far as he's concerned, the sooner the better. Same for Williams, because if he's correct in his assessment it will lead to the dam opening, then he'll have a break coming from both sides. Kamara leads the nation averaging 1.67 per game, six total in four games, and that's missing a half at Middle Tennessee.

Gatkuoth will be excited for sure, but he may not be the most enthused player on the field when it happens.

"I think I am. Because I'm going to say finally," Kamara said. "I think he's going to yell from the top of his lungs. I'm going to get excited, but then I'm going to say, 'that's only one.'"

Annoying, indeed.

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results

Players Mentioned

Kenyon Agurs

Nuer Gatkuoth

Ayden Hector

Mohamed Kamara

Mukendi Wa-Kalonji

Upcoming Events

Recent Results

Colorado State University Athletics