Ezra Christensen is stuck working out in the Florida heat instead of the Colorado elevation.
He’s confused and frustrated about why his eligibility situation remains in limbo less than two weeks before the Buffs‘ season opener. The Colorado football team is three weeks into fall camp and Christensen is still playing the waiting game.
“I have never missed fall camp,” Ezra Christensen told DNVR’s Scott Procter. “It’s frustrating that I’ve missed two weeks of fall camp already. Guys are way ahead of me. They’ve been practicing and it’s insane because I’m way behind. I might not be behind physically because I’m working out and doing what I’m supposed to, but mentally, it’s draining.
“I’m sitting here when I could be helping my team and building more chemistry.”
Christensen said he thought he would get a resolution sometime last week but the last he and his attorney (Darren Heitner) heard is that a Boulder judge is working on an order for the pending motion with nothing else needed from either side.
The New Mexico State transfer defensive lineman is seeking quick relief eligibility for the upcoming football season via an injunction against the NCAA. It’s a fight that many college football players have recently won, including two who Christensen has kept in contact with.
Former Temple DL Khalil Poteat and former Indiana DL Hosea Wheeler were both granted injunctions this month, allowing them to play this season for their new teams (Vanderbilt and Baylor, respectively). Both of them started their college careers at a junior college just like Ezra Christensen did.
“We provided every similar case to the judge,” Ezra Christensen said. “These guys got their injunctions and there’s no difference from my case.
“What’s taking you two weeks to decide?”
With injunctions being granted to student-athletes in similar situations seemingly every day, Christensen can’t help but wonder what exactly is causing the delay with his case. Especially when the NCAA just filed a recent decision as supplemental authority in Christensen’s pending case after the court explicitly said no additional actions were needed.
Heitner called it a “dirty play.”
“It’s frustrating to talk about it,” Ezra Christensen said. “I don’t know if it’s a politics thing. I don’t know if it’s a Coach Prime or Colorado thing.
“I know for sure if I was at another institution, this would’ve been a lot easier.”
Christensen knows that being away from the team during fall camp means he’s missing out on valuable practices and reps. Defensive line coach Dante Carter often reaches out to check in, but the unclear nature of Christensen’s football future has been taking a toll on him since the spring.
Some clarity from the NCAA on his situation could’ve saved him months of frustration.
“I need to practice, I need to be there and build trust with the team,” Ezra Christensen said. “I’m not just going to show up and do a miracle. In the spring, I wasn’t really myself because this whole thing is a mind f***. Knowing you can wake up and not be allowed in the facilities, which is exactly where I’m at right now.
“If I knew exactly what was going on, I would’ve just declared for the draft.”
The NFL Draft was and is a real possibility for Ezra Christensen. The 6-foot-2, 280-pounder is the highest-graded (88.6) returning Big 12 defensive tackle, according to Pro Football Focus. He totaled 11 TFLs and six sacks in 2025, earning first-team All-CUSA honors, while also leading all FBS defensive linemen in total QB hurries (28).
It’s why Christensen says it won’t be hard for him to get back into football shape and it’ll take about a week for him to get where he wants to be physically.
“I don’t feel like it should take me that long to get going,” Ezra Christensen said.
Christensen says this isn’t the first time in his life that he’s dealt with real adversity. Growing up without parents in an orphanage in Sierra Leone (West Africa), he was adopted at 16 with no knowledge of American football.
COVID-19 wiped out his senior season of high school, causing him to take the junior college route. Ezra Christensen blossomed into one of the best defensive linemen in the country at New Mexico State and if he gets the opportunity, his revenge tour will continue in Colorado.
“This lit a different type of fire,” Ezra Christenen said. “This is where I have to feed my family. My people back home in Africa are counting on me and looking forward to watch me play. Everyday I wake up, it’s like they’re taking food off my plate.
“It’s a different type of mentality I have right now. When I first got to Colorado, my goal was to have double-digit sacks and be a part of a winning team. Now, it’s about revenge. I’m on a revenge tour now. It’s personal. Everything is personal from now on.”
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