Quarterbacks in the Mountain West received bad news on Tuesday.
Mohamed Kamara announced that he will put off a pro career and use his extra season of eligibility to return for a fifth year at Colorado State.
An athletic edge rusher that absolutely torches offensive tackles off the line of scrimmage, Kamara has been an effective player for the Rams for a couple of years now. Before he was even in the starting lineup, Kamara racked up 8.5 sacks over 16 games between the 2020 and 2021 seasons.
Once the veterans that started in 2021 graduated, and Kamara’s role increased, the versatile defensive lineman really got an opportunity to show off what he could do this past fall.
Kamara’s 44 total tackles, 16 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks were all the best he’s ever had in a single season. Paired with C.J. Onyechi on the opposite end, CSU had one of the more disruptive duos in the conference.
Unfortunately, Onyechi only had one year to play after playing the majority of his career at Rutgers, so he won’t be in the mix moving forward. The bright side is with Kamara electing to run it back with a unit that really came into its own in the Mountain West slate, the established depth actually looks pretty good for the defensive line going into the early signing period.
There’s no doubt that it’s an important month for Jay Norvell and the CSU coaches. With the staff able to sign around 40 players, the next couple of weeks on the recruiting trail will have a major impact on what the team will look like in 2023.
Cornerback, linebacker and the offensive line are a couple of the obvious areas for the coaches to target this cycle. It’s really nice that the Rams don’t also have to replace both star defensive ends though.
Under first-year Rams defensive coordinator Freddie Banks, Kamara flourished as a pass rusher but also proved to be an effective weapon against the run. By coming back for one more season he can put even more on film for NFL scouts and hopefully further elevate his status as a prospect. He’ll also have a shot to make a run at the postseason for the first time in his collegiate career.
While the staff should be stoked about Kamara’s decision, he is not the only veteran that they hope to persuade to stick around for another season. We’ll see if cornerback Chigozie Anusiem also decides to help build on what CSU started in year number one under Norvell.
