Sumo Wrestling Champion Hidetora Hanada to Play DL for Colorado State Football

Champion sumo wrestler Hidetora Hanada announced this week that he is transitioning to football and will play collegiately at Colorado State University this season.

According to Jordan Mendoza of USA Today, Colorado State confirmed the move, noting that Hanada will play defensive line and will join the program as a junior with two years of eligibility remaining.

While the start of the 2023 college football season is just over one month away, Colorado State divulged that Hanada will not arrive in the United States from Japan "for a few more weeks."

Speaking to John Gunning of the Japan Times, Hanada expressed excitement over the challenge of playing FBS college football and attempting to eventually make it to the NFL:

"I'm aware that I'll have to give it my all to succeed. I'm more excited than nervous about the fact that I'll have to learn how to survive and continue to aim for the NFL in a football program where I'll be the only Japanese player, and surrounded by those speaking a different language."

The 21-year-old Hanada was the 2020 all-Japan sumo champion and a gold medalist in the open-weight division at the 2022 World Games. He has also achieved the highest ranking in sumo, which is yokozuna.

Per Gunning, Hanada first got into football in March 2022, trying out for the X-League, which is the top American football league in Japan.

Hanada eventually made Japan's national football team and first garnered interest from major colleges like Ohio State and Texas by impressing in the CFL combine.

It is unclear how much playing time Hanada will receive in 2023 given his inexperience and how late he will be joining the team, but the Rams can use all the help they can get.

Colorado State has finished below .500 in five straight seasons, including going 3-9 in each of the past two campaigns.

Even if the Rams aren't able to turn things around this season, there promises to be plenty of interest in the program in the United States, Japan and across the world as fans track Hanada's progress.