BOULDER — Who could have guessed that the future of Colorado's offensive line would come out of Africa? That's redshirt freshman Stephane Nembot, a 6-foot-8, 305-pound mountain of a man from Cameroon.
Relatively new to football, Nembot has started two games this season and graded as high as 77 percent as a right tackle in CU's loss to UCLA — a promising number for such a raw player who arrived in Boulder as a defensive end. Nembot in ways is symbolic of CU's youthful team, high on potential but somewhat overwhelmed right now in the Pac-12 Conference.
"Stephane has a bright future here," CU offensive line coach Steve Marshall said during preparations for Saturday's 4 p.m. game (Pac-12 Network) between Colorado (1-5, 1-2 Pac-12) and No. 11 Southern California (5-1, 3-1).
CU can only hope Nembot develops into another Nate Solder (6-8, 320), the former Colorado standout who became an NFL first-round draft pick and now starts for the New England Patriots. In the meantime, Nembot has a story to tell.
Growing up in Cameroon, Nembot (full name pronounced Steff-on Name-bot) played basketball, soccer and even team handball, a fast-paced sport that is foreign to most Americans but is wildly popular in Central Africa. Nembot's potential on the basketball court caught the eyes of a college coach in the United States who was scouting Africa. Seeing that path as a means toward a college education, Nembot came to the America as high school exchange student and enrolled as a junior at the now-defunct Montclair Prep in Van Nuys, Calif., a L.A. suburb.
Nembot was hoping to star in high school basketball, but his life changed when one of Montclair Prep's assistant football coaches asked Nembot if he would like to try that sport.
"I said: 'Nah. I came here for basketball,' " Nembot recalled. "He asked me if I liked to work out, and I said I always want to work out harder. So he said I could run with him and he'd show me
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Nembot got his feet wet on the football field as a high school junior — his first year in the sport — and earned second-team all-league honors as a defensive end while playing in just a handful of games. As a senior, he developed into a major-college prospect by recording 11 sacks and forcing two fumbles.
Rivals.com, the recruiting-based website, named the three-star Nembot "the most intriguing prospect in the West" because of his combination of size and strength and untapped potential.
"I really didn't know anything about football," Nembot said of his junior year in high school. "Coaches would say: 'See that? Just go to the football.' "
Nembot attended a well-known summer football camp in Southern California before his senior season to improve his individual skills and learn some of the nuances of the game. After his senior year at Montclair Prep, Nembot seemed to like every college program he visited. He extended a verbal commitment to Washington State before switching to Washington and then finally settling on Colorado after a trip to Boulder on the last weekend before the 2011 national signing day.
CU coach Jon Embree sold Nembot on becoming part of the Buffs' rebuilding project.
"I liked that," Nembot said. "I'm the kind of person that doesn't like anything to be given to me; I want to work for what I get.
"It's easy to go to a system that has been winning. But here at Colorado, when we start winning, people are going to remember the ones that helped bring it back."
Last year, Nembot practiced as a defensive end for the duration of Colorado's August camp. Then, during the first week of the regular season, he requested a move to offensive tackle, which he thought better suited his towering frame.
"My high school coach told me that in college I'd either be a great player at defensive end right away or I'd move to offensive tackle, and to not be surprised or disappointed if it happened," Nembot recalled. "I always remembered that."
After redshirting in 2011 to learn a new position, Nembot began this season third on the depth chart at right tackle. He is now listed second behind starter Jack Harris, a junior.
"Stephane is one of the strongest players I've ever played with," junior center Gus Handler said. "And, of course, he's huge."
Nembot was thrust into the starting lineup for games against Washington State and UCLA when an injury to Handler forced some shuffling along the line.
"Stephane has already played more this year than I anticipated. The guy's going to be a good player," said Marshall, Nembot's position coach. "Every day is an adventure for him, being so new to the game. But he's worked extremely hard, and he'll see some time this weekend (at USC)."
In no surprise, learning the fundamentals and subtleties of pass protection has been Nembot's biggest challenge.
"I like to play offensive tackle like I did as a defensive end and jump into the guy across from me," Nembot said. "To do that drop step (in pass protection) is something that doesn't seem natural."
For a native of Africa, few things in football are.
Tom Kensler: 303-954-1280, tkensler@denverpost.com or twitter.com/tomkensler
Southern California products on CU's two-deep roster
Starters
WR Nelson Spruce, Fr.-RS, Westlake Village
OG Daniel Munyer, Soph., Tarzana
TB Christian Powell, Fr., Upland
DT Samson Kafovalu, Fr., Riverside
NT Josh Tupou, Fr., Long Beach
DE Chidera Uzo-Diribe, Jr., Corona
CB Greg Henderson, Soph., Corona
PK Will Oliver, Soph., Los Angeles
Back-ups
LT-OG Ryan Dannewitz, Sr., San Jacinto
RT Stephane Nembot, Fr.-RS, Van Nuys
LB Woodson Greer III, Soph., Carson
FS Marques Mosley, Fr., Upland
SS Jared Bell, Soph., Ontario
CB Josh Moten, Soph., Carson
Tom Kensler, The Denver Post
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