What to expect from new CU safety Atanza Vongor

BOULDER — Colorado added an exciting piece to its secondary this week.

Atanza Vongor, a former TCU Horned Frog, announced on Twitter that he would be joining the Colorado Buffaloes on Friday. The safety will be eligible to play in 2021 thanks to the NCAA’s decision last month to grant an eligibility waiver to all first-time transfers. He has three seasons of eligibility remaining.

(His name is pronounced “uh-TAWN-zuh VONN-ger,” according to TCU’s media guide.)

https://twitter.com/avongor/status/1390745302597046274?s=21

As you might expect from a transfer, Vongor’s three seasons with the TCU weren’t exactly what he’d hoped for.

Vongor was a four-star recruit out of Texas in 2018 and the 16th-ranked safety in the country, according to 247Sports’ composite rankings. He earned offers to Alabama, Clemson and just about everywhere else before choosing to stay home at TCU.

Vongor garnered positive reviews early in his first fall camp but tore his ACL before the season began, ending his freshman campaign.

In his second season and third seasons, Vongor competed for a role in the defense but only played special teams (mostly kick coverage and punt return). Both of his tackles came in 2019, when he also missed two tackles.

(These stats come from Pro Football Focus, but there’s a photo of Vongor contesting a catch against Oklahoma State’s Tylan Wallace caught by USA Today. So PFF must be wrong. The photo is at the top of this story.)

While it’s easy to be disappointed by Vongor’s contributions during three seasons at TCU, it’s important to account for the circumstances.

The Horned Frogs have produced a spectacular amount of secondary talent during Vongor’s time on campus; safeties Trevon Moehrig and Ar’Darius Washington may have been the best safety duo in the nation in 2020 and Moehrig won the Jim Thorpe Award for the best defensive back in the nation.

Those two weren’t alone, either. Jeff Gladney, a cornerback, was chosen in the first round in 2020 and there’s plenty of talent remaining in the defensive backs room, particularly young players who passed Vongor on the depth chart last year.

It would have been great to see Vongor carve out a role in the TCU defense but that was one of the toughest rotations to crack in all of college football.

So what can Vongor provide Colorado over the next three seasons?

First of all, size.

While 6-foot-1 and 208 pounds doesn’t make Vongor the biggest safety, he plays bigger than he’s listed and there’s plenty of room on his frame to add more size, if he chooses.

Plus, Colorado’s safeties are fairly small. At the moment, Isaiah Lewis is the biggest CU safety with any real experience at 6-0, 205. Ray Robinson (6-2, 220) and Trustin Oliver (6-4, 220) are exciting prospects but they are still just prospects. Toren Pittman (6-4, 190) could provide some length as well.

Vongor plays like a big safety. His speed shouldn’t cause problems but it isn’t a strength, either. For his size, it’s solid. His short-area quickness and burst aren’t plus traits either.

But his shoulders are broad and he plays behind his pads well (which could be the result of his physical style as a high school running back). He’s mean when taking on blockers and he should be able to create havoc as a blitzer.

Free safety Derrion Rakestraw was the only departure from the Buffs’ secondary over the offseason, but Vongor probably doesn’t possess the skill set to take over that spot. His lack of elite speed makes him a poor fit to defend the deep middle of the field and he should be more successful when playing in the box.

Instead, look for Mark Perry or Isaiah Lewis to fill the free safety role, while Vongor could slide in at strong safety or STAR (if he fits into the rotation in 2021).

Earlier this offseason, new Buffs defensive coordinator Chris Wilson said that the Buffs wouldn’t have a true “base” defense moving forward. Instead, they’ll be changing up their schemes weekly based on who their opponent is.

While we don’t know exactly what this will look like, my best guess is that the Buffs will be very flexible in terms of who fits into the hybrid spots on the defense… especially the STAR.

One week, Colorado may primarily use a linebacker in that hybrid linebacker/safety spot if they’re matching up a power running team. The next, they might throw a cornerback in that spot to provide more coverage ability against an Air Raid scheme like USC’s.

Vongor likely won’t be able to stick with receivers at the Power 5 level, especially some of the quicker slot receivers in the Pac-12 like Utah’s Britain Covey. He should be a solid option against tight ends though and a threat to make plays in the running game as well.

If I were in charge, I’d try to pack another 10-20 pounds on Vongor and commit to playing him as a STAR/dime linebacker. With his build (especially those shoulders) I don’t think it’d be hard for him to get up to 215+ pounds.

There would be concerns of course, including whether he’d lose a step. But adding extra weight would only fill him out to what I think is his ideal body type and shouldn’t provide any more of a hindrance than his build already provides. Plus, if he does lose a step, he wouldn’t be losing an elite trait but he could be adding one as a top-tier run-defender from the secondary.

Take all of this with a grain of salt since we haven’t seen Vongor play a defensive snap in a real game since 2017. It’s worth noting that the coaching staff has probably reviewed quite a bit of film from TCU’s practices. If they don’t see Vongor as a hybrid player, they could absolutely be making the right call.