Boston College blew out Buffalo, 35-3, on Parent’s Weekend during Week 5 of the 2016 season. It was four years ago, but graduate transfer Chibueze “Boozie” Onwuka remembers the game, even though he wasn’t even on the field—or the Bulls roster for that matter.

At the time, Onwuka was wrestling at Niagara County Community College (NCCC). He spent one semester in Sanborn, N.Y. after graduating from Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt, Md., where he was a dual-sport athlete.

While at NCCC, Onwuka watched all of Buffalo’s football games. He had played the sport in high school and originally planned on transferring to Buffalo to wrestle under former NCCC regional champion John Stutzman, as reported by the Niagara Gazette in September 2019.

As time went on, though, Onwuka couldn’t resist his love for the gridiron. In January 2017, he transferred to Buffalo. Soon after that, he walked on to the Bulls' football team.

Onwuka wasn’t highly recruited out of high school. In fact, his Rivals page doesn’t even include a rating or a single offer. Not only that, but he is listed as an outside linebacker with a photo that almost looks unrecognizable now—after all, he was under 210 pounds at the time, according to the Rivals recruiting database.

While a senior at Eleanor Roosevelt, he piled up 60 tackles and 13 sacks as an edge rusher on the football field before wrestling his way to a state championship at the 220-pound weight class. Then, during his brief stint at NCCC, he wrestled at 235 pounds, according to the Niagara Gazette.

He wasn’t much bigger when he attended an open tryout for Buffalo’s football team. But head coach Lance Leipold liked what he saw from Onwuka.

“The wrestling background was a big bonus for him,” Leipold told the Niagara Gazette in September 2019. “His quickness, getting low and using leverage, using his hands and understanding all of the things that go into that. He kept on gaining weight and getting better and better.”

Onwuka appeared in 11 games as a freshman, making just one start but earning a scholarship at the end of the year. He got the starting nod at defensive tackle in five games the next season. Unfortunately for Onwuka, however, he was hampered by an ankle injury toward the end of the year. When all was said and done, he logged 17 tackles, 5.0 TFLs, and 1.5 sacks in 2018, in addition to recording the game-clinching fumble recovery against Temple.

By the time last season rolled around, Onwuka was back to full strength and weighing in around 285 pounds. The extra poundage and experience inside the trenches helped him take his game to the next level.

Onwuka started all 13 games at defensive tackle and tallied 43 total tackles, 8.0 TFLs, and 3.5 sacks, en route to earning All-MAC Third Team honors. Two of his more notable performances were a five-tackle, sack, and safety effort at Eastern Michigan (earned him the MAC East Defensive Player of the Week award) and his game at 10th-ranked Penn State, where he had a pair of TFLs and a sack.

In the offseason, Onwuka began looking for his third and final college home. He told reporters after BC’s practice on Saturday that, as a grad transfer, he was making a “business decision” in the transfer portal. He was searching for the best opportunity to use his last year of eligibility.

“When I first got into it, it was really overwhelming because of the attention I was getting,” Onwuka said. “But it came down to which coaches I could click with the best, what defense I thought I could excel in the most in, and what coaches I thought could help me take my game to the next level.”

Ultimately those coaches were Jeff Hafley and defensive line coach Vince Oghobaase, and that team was BC. Onwuka has slid right into the Eagles’ defensive front, which struggled mightily last season at defending against the run (100th nationally) and rushing the passer (19 sacks, the second fewest in the ACC). The Maryland native is poised to help BC bounce back.

“He’s been someone who’s been able to come in and pick up the defense and fit right into our D-Line,” defensive end Brandon Barlow said. “He gets along with all of the guys, and he’s really developed into a role where he can help the leadership of our unit. I love Boozie, he’s my guy.”

Onwuka is as bulky as ever, and—according to him—he and left guard Zion Johnson are the two strongest players on the team. Onwuka actually suited up against Johnson when he was a senior at Eleanor Roosevelt. Back then, he was coming off the edge. Now, he’s lined up right across from him, and the two go at it every day in practice.

Onwuka said that BC has the most athletic guards he’s seen in his whole career. Between Johnson, Finn Dirstine, Christian Mahogany, Jack Conley, Nate Emer, and right tackle Ben Petrula (who’s been playing some guard in practice), BC is loaded at the position, not to mention center Alec Lindstrom who rounds out the interior of the offensive line.

“Boozie has been a great addition to the defensive line,” Lindstrom said last week. “He’s powerful, he’s fast, and he’s had a lot of game experience. He’s a big, strong guy, but he also has a lot of finesse with him. So he’s been giving us a lot of problems.”

The former wrestler’s footwork and leverage have come in handy, particularly with a coach like Oghobaase, who Onwuka said is “probably one of the most technical coaches I’ve ever been with.” The defensive tackle went on to explain that the high-energy Oghobaase doesn’t let any mistakes slip, even the smallest errors from the veterans.

“He’ll get on you no matter who you are—no matter if you’re a fifth year or a freshman,” Onwuka said.

Onwuka is expected to make an impact this season, just like he has in training camp. During Saturday’s scrimmage periods, the grad transfer notched a sack when the BC offense was in the red zone, as well as a shared TFL with defensive end Marcus Valdez.

While his former team aims to play in the spring, his current squad is just weeks away from kicking off the 2020 season.

Onwuka is more than happy with his decision to come to Chestnut Hill.

“I was really excited to come here with the new coaching staff,” Onwuka said. “I think they’re doing some good things, especially on defense. … I’m glad I chose BC to finish off my college career.”