Kene Nwangwu
American football player (born 1998) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kene Nwangwu (born February 9, 1998) is an American professional football running back for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Iowa State Cyclones.[1]
| No. 34 – New York Jets | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Running back | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born: | February 9, 1998 Frisco, Texas, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight: | 210 lb (95 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school: | Heritage (Frisco, Texas) | ||||||||||||||
| College: | Iowa State (2016–2020) | ||||||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2021 / round: 4 / pick: 119 | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||||||
| Roster status: | Practice squad | ||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of Week 6, 2024 | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Nwangwu played for the Iowa State Cyclones of Iowa State University from 2016 to 2020.[2] He led the Big 12 Conference in kickoff returns and kickoff return yards in the 2016 season.[3] Due to an Achilles injury, he used a redshirt for the 2017 season.[4]
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 0+1⁄8 in (1.83 m) |
210 lb (95 kg) |
30+1⁄2 in (0.77 m) |
9+1⁄4 in (0.23 m) | 4.31 s | 1.45 s | 2.56 s | 4.25 s | 6.83 s | 38.0 in (0.97 m) | 10 ft 5 in (3.18 m) | 22 reps | |
| All values from Pro Day[5][6] | ||||||||||||
Minnesota Vikings
Nwangwu was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the fourth round, 119th overall, of the 2021 NFL draft.[7] On May 15, 2021, he signed his rookie contract with Minnesota, worth $4.23 million with a $752K signing bonus.[8] He was placed on injured reserve on September 1, 2021.[9] He was activated on October 19. His first NFL touchdown was a 98 yard kick-off return for a touchdown versus the Baltimore Ravens in Week 9, earning National Football Conference (NFC) Special Teams Player of the Week.[10] Three weeks later in Week 12 against the San Francisco 49ers, Nwangwu returned another kick for a touchdown, this one being 99 yards.[11][12] As a rookie, he appeared in 11 games.[13] He was named to the Pro Football Writers of America All-Rookie Team.[14]
In Week 12 of the 2022 season against the New England Patriots, he had another kickoff return for a 97-yard touchdown, earning NFC Special Teams Player of the Week.[15] His 35 total kick returns in the 2022 tied with Keisean Nixon for the lead in the NFL.[16] Overall, he appeared in all 17 games in a special teams role for the Vikings in the 2022 season.[17]
On August 30, 2023, Nwangwu was placed on injured reserve.[18] He was activated on October 18.[19]
On August 27, 2024, Nwangwu was waived by the Vikings as a part of final roster cuts.[20]
New Orleans Saints
Nwangwu was claimed off waivers by the New Orleans Saints on August 28, 2024, but was waived the next day after failing his physical.[21]
New York Jets
Nwangwu signed with the New York Jets practice squad on September 9, 2024.[22]
Wikiwand in your browser!
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
