When he signed a deal to transfer to Colorado in January, Toby Anene already knew what to expect on game day at Folsom Field.
Playing for North Dakota State, Anene competed at Folsom on Aug. 29, 2024, when his Bison lost to the Buffaloes, 31-26, in the season opener in front of 49,438 fans.
“Man, the atmosphere was crazy and we felt the altitude,” Anene said this week after a spring practice with the Buffs. “It was just, the energy was different. Like, you walked out on the field, the fans, the sideline, everything about this place was just different.”
Itap part of why Anene chose to come to CU when he entered the transfer portal this winter, and he hopes to now help the Buffs win this season.
The 6-foot-4, 260-pound defensive end comes to CU with one season of eligibility and hopes to make it a great year.
“I just wanted to play on a bigger stage,” he said. “This is my final year trying to get to the NFL so I just felt like Colorado was the best place for me to do that. I got in the portal, they showed me love they treated me as a priority and I’m glad I made my decision.”
Anene is part of an overhauled room at defensive end, with six transfers, including seniors Balansama Kamara (Albany) and Vili Taufatofua (San Jose State); and sophomores Immanuel Ezeogu (James Madison), Lamont Lester Jr. (Monmouth) and Yamil Talib (Charlotte).
Anene comes to CU after being named second-team All-Missouri Valley Conference last season at NDSU. He had a team-high seven sacks, along with 27 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, six pass breakups and five QB hurries for the Bison, who went 12-1.
In 2024, Anene had 29 tackles, 5.5 TFLs and 3.5 sacks. Along with statistics and experience, Anene carries the principles he learned through NDSU’s winning culture.
“The culture is just crazy there,” he said. “Like, you don’t play if you don’t run to the ball. So, itap like in practice every day running to the ball, walk-throughs running to the ball. So itap just everything you do is surrounded around running to the ball and swarming as a defense.”
Thatap what he hopes to do at CU, although he said he doesn’t have any expectations.
“I just try to be the best player I could be, be the best 1/11 for this defense, for this team,” he said. “I hope to bring just a level of physicality in the run game, in the pass rush game, finesse hopefully and just hope to lead some of these young guys, too, and just shift the culture of this program.”
CU is leaning on a lot of players, like Anene, who are moving up from lower ranks to try to shift the culture. But that has brought in a new level of hunger, he said.
“We have a lot of FCS, (Group of Five) guys,” he said. “A lot of guys that have been under-recruited, under-looked. In practice itap a lot of fire, a lot of effort because these are guys that believe that they’re better players than they’ve been told. Every day is a competition with these guys.”
Itap a competition Anene is pleased to be a part of, less than two years after trying to beat the Buffs.
“Itap a big blessing, being from the outside looking in two years ago and then just actually being a part of this team,” he said. “Itap a big blessing.”
