An Arrival Filled with Curiosity and Fascination
Sumo champ Hanada excited about new challenge with Rams
Mike Brohard
Naturally, there is a keen sense of curiosity. Definitely a fascination.
Most of all, Hidetora Hanada’s Colorado State football teammates are excited for and about him.
It’s not every day an amateur sumo champion joins your program late in the summer.
“Honestly, he has a good attitude. We love having him around; he’s one of those guys you just love having him around,” Cam Bariteau said. “He’s happy, always smiling. In the meeting room, he started dancing. He’s always ready to learn, and he picks it up really quick.”
A foreign language. A new home. Playing a sport he’s never played in an organized manner. Turning in his Mawashi for a helmet and shoulder pads.
He attended Nippon Sport Science University, where he was an all-world sumo wrestler. In 2020, he won the all-Japan title, earning the Yokozuna rank, the highest in his sport. In 2022, he won gold in the World Games open division.
This summer, he attended a CFL workout camp and drew rave reviews from those in attendance. One of them was Mike Phair, the current defensive line coach for Ottawa, who CSU defensive line coach Buddha Williams calls one of his mentors from when they met at Illinois.
“They had a combine, and he pointed me in his direction. That’s how it went from there,” Williams said. “He was at a tryout camp. They said his skillset, his tools and his background – his sumo background – but it was also his intelligence, too, and how quickly he was able to pick up the game, the assignment and technique. He was advanced for not having played organized football. It was combination of things and his intangibles, his athleticism, his power, his strength and his pad level.”
No one is more excited about the change than Hanada, whose switch has been national news in his home country since his July announcement via social media he was going to play football at Colorado State.
He’s still leaning English, though his is not bad. When coaches or teammates can’t get their words across, they use hand signals or simply show him what they’re talking about.
“The CFL camp, I was very excited. I don’t have football experience, so I want to improve my football skills,” Hanada said. “I watched the NFL on TV. I first watched when I was several years old. I did sumo, judo and martial arts, but never football.
“I started with football six months ago. I did sumo, doing it for 14 years. I thought I would make a good football player at CSU.”
He’s not alone in the assessment. His defensive line teammates have been amazed at how well he’s picked up a game he’s never played. None of them know much about sumo, but they do know about leverage, pad level and hand fighting.
They comprehend just how important it is to be explosive off the ball, and Hanada has proven to be exceptionally quick with an ability to stay low. If you watch the tape of his national championship match, you easily grasp where his quick-twitch abilities were honed.
Watching him at practice, they’re stunned he’s never played the game.
“I was very surprised. He’s never played organized football,” Matt Thomas said. “He has some moves down already that he’s very good at. He picks up quick on the plays and he’s learning at an excelled pace. Somebody that new who wants to play like that and pick up on things, they can help us in the rotation and keep guys fresh.”
I honor this experience of amateur sumo. I want a challenge, the sumo wrestler to football.Hidetora Hanada
Of course, none of them have ever sumo wrestled either, another topic of conversation. As it sits, the defensive line room is waiting for Bariteau to take Hanada on in a match.
Bariteau is game, if not exactly thrilled, at the prospect.
“Nah, that’s not me. If it’s somebody, it’s probably going to be me, but I don’t know if I’m gonna do it,” Bariteau said with a grin. “That’s what it seems like it’s coming to. People have signed me up for it. I’ve got to put up a fair fight if it happens. I guess I’ve got to get ready for it. I’ll have to watch film. I don’t even know how to do it.”
Bariteau’s name is the one Hanada keeps hearing, too, which makes him smile. He takes it as a compliment even, saying Bariteau is the player he respects with his “technique and ability to dominate.”
“But sumo is different,” Hanada said. “He won’t win.”
Hanada is winning already. Williams isn’t placing any huge expectations on the first-time player, despite the accelerated rate he’s picking up the teachings and his willingness to put in the work. The way Williams views the process, too much translates for Hanada not to succeed in this journey.
Williams will be the last person surprised if Hanada sees the field for the Rams this season, even with a deep group of defensive tackles.
“I think he can. He has a unique skillset and he’s getting better every day,” Williams said. “To be honest, I think the sky is the limit. He’s picking stuff up. He’s ahead of the curve. Now, we just have to continue to tune his technique up and be able to use his intangibles more and bring it out more. Right now, it’s like everybody else, the first days of camp we’re putting a lot in their mind – playbook, assignments. You don’t tend to cut it loose because you’re thinking. We’re trying to eliminate the thinking part and release that natural ability.”
Williams does most of the teaching, but not all of it. Because of Hanada’s approach, he has a room full of people more than happy to answer any questions he has or show him any skill new to him. At practice, he’s constantly paying attention, eavesdropping on any instruction which may not be directed at him, but most certainly can affect him.
After practice, he’s a willing participant in extra work, or at the very least, a focused observer.
Combine it all, he’s quickly winning over his teammates.
“The funniest is him in meetings. He’ll just say, ‘yes sir,’ all day,” Thomas said. “The whole time. Teaching him technique is smooth and easy. He learns quickly and you wouldn’t expect that because he’s new to the game. The transition is going really well.
“It’s fun to talk to him, and to teach him new words and new lingo is hilarious. You have to demonstrate it to him, and then he gets it quickly. You tell him something once, he’s got it.”
He’s earned their respect based on the all the transitions he is making simultaneously, all of it with an optimistic outlook and a willingness to be part of the team.
Everything is new, and Hanada is set on making every adjustment.
“Fort Collins is different than Japan. It’s dry, and I get a little dehydrated,” he said. “It’s different water, different food. My new experiences, I’m too excited. I miss Japan and my parents, but I am so excited to be here. I do like American food. This fall camp, the meal is very good. I reduced my weight coming to America, but now I have upped the weight.”
The biggest adjustment of all is the game itself. What hasn’t changed is his drive to achieve.
He is finding learning to compete in a new arena is a complex series of events each and every play, but the focus required is unchanged.
“Sumo national championship ... It was a very proud moment, but now, I’m a football player,” he said. “Not a sumo wrestler. Now I have to separate my mind. I honor this experience of amateur sumo. I want a challenge, the sumo wrestler to football.
“Sumo is one-on-one. Football is a team sport, so a fine line, opposite. I have to move my eyes and I have hand skills. I know how to stay low and get leverage. The sumo experience, I keep those skills. Those are my good skills, but hand skills, chop and grab and read is not from sumo. I have to get football experience. This season, I want to participate in games.”
All involved are curious to see how this plays out. His physical ability gives them faith the transition will eventually take place, with most of them erasing if from the equation and wondering when.
If they’re all correct in their thinking, the fascination surrounding Hanada’s pursuit will only continue to grow.