Running back, Iowa State, 2016–20
Kene Nwangwu
- Number
- No. 3
- Height
- 6′1″
- Weight
- 210 lb
- Class (2020)
- Senior
- Hometown
- Frisco, TX
- Born
- Feb 9, 1998, in Frisco, Texas
Wikipedia readers: about 1,351 a month over the past year
Kene Nwangwu played running back at Iowa State (2016–20). The Minnesota Vikings took Nwangwu in round 4, No. 119 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft.
At a glance
Honors
Rushing
| Season | Team | Car | Yds | Avg | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Iowa State | 27 | 133 | 4.9 | 0 | 14 |
| 2018 | Iowa State | 39 | 157 | 4.0 | 0 | 24 |
| 2019 | Iowa State | 16 | 115 | 7.2 | 0 | 19 |
| 2020 | Iowa State | 61 | 339 | 5.6 | 4 | 49 |
| Career | 143 | 744 | 5.2 | 4 | 49 | |
Returns
| Season | Team | KR | Yds | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Iowa State | 34 | 896 | 1 |
| 2018 | Iowa State | 24 | 643 | 0 |
| 2019 | Iowa State | 17 | 381 | 0 |
| 2020 | Iowa State | 19 | 550 | 0 |
| Career | 94 | 2,470 | 1 | |
Season lines from CollegeFootballData, regular season and bowls.
On the roster
| Season | Team | No. | Pos | Class | Ht | Wt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Iowa State | 3 | RB | Yr 1 | ||
| 2017 | Iowa State | 3 | RB | Yr 2 | ||
| 2018 | Iowa State | 3 | RB | Yr 3 | ||
| 2019 | Iowa State | 3 | RB | Yr 4 | ||
| 2020 | Iowa State | 3 | RB | Sr. (Yr 5) | 6′1″ | 210 |
As each season’s roster listed the player (CollegeFootballData). Classes before the latest listing are counted back from it; “Yr 1” is the year on file where that count can’t place a season he played (a redshirt, transfer or 2020 year); height and weight as last listed.
Per play
| Season | Team | Plays | EPA/play | Pctile | Median | Total | Usage | Adj. rush |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Iowa State | 29 | 0.08 | – | – | 2.2 | 6% | – |
| 2018 | Iowa State | 35 | -0.01 | – | – | -0.3 | 6% | 0.07 |
| 2019 | Iowa State | 18 | 0.29 | – | – | 5.2 | – | – |
| 2020 | Iowa State | 64 | 0.02 | 19th (n=212) | 0.14 | 1.3 | 8% | 0.14 |
Expected points added: how much the player’s plays moved the team’s expected score, per play and in total. Plays: total EPA divided by EPA per play, the plays the source credits to him (for a receiver roughly his catches and runs, not every target; for a passer, not every attempt), so it can differ from attempts plus carries. Percentile: against the position’s regulars that season across all divisions on file (quarterbacks with 150+ plays, backs 60+, receivers and tight ends 30+), with how many there were (n) and their median; a dash means too few plays to rank. A season in progress uses the full-season bar scaled by games played, never below 75 plays for quarterbacks, 30 for backs and 20 for receivers. The cohort grows or shrinks with the source’s coverage each season (2025 lists far more players), so compare percentiles rather than raw EPA across years. FCS seasons are marked. Usage: the share of the team’s plays the player was part of (shown from 20 plays). Adjusted pass and rush: EPA per play adjusted for the defenses faced (CollegeFootballData’s WEPA). From CollegeFootballData, 2013 on.
Game by game
2020 Iowa State 12 games, 339 rushing yards, 4 TD
| Date | Opponent | Result | Car | Rush yds | Rush TD | KR | Yds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 12 | vs. | L 14–31 | 7 | 21 | 1 | 3 | 69 |
| Sep 26 | at | W 37–34 | 1 | 49 | 1 | 1 | 18 |
| Oct 3 | vs. | W 37–30 | – | – | – | 4 | 167 |
| Oct 10 | vs. | W 31–15 | 7 | 37 | 0 | 2 | 66 |
| Oct 24 | at | L 21–24 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 53 |
| Oct 31 | at | W 52–22 | 5 | 57 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Nov 7 | vs. | W 38–31 | 4 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 88 |
| Nov 21 | vs. | W 45–0 | 11 | 16 | 0 | – | – |
| Nov 27 | at | W 23–20 | 4 | 11 | 0 | – | – |
| Dec 5 | vs. | W 42–6 | 9 | 77 | 1 | 1 | 15 |
| Dec 19 | vs. | L 21–27 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 43 |
| Jan 2 ✦ | vs. | W 34–17 | 11 | 55 | 0 | 1 | 27 |
2019 Iowa State 11 games, 17 returns, 381 yards
| Date | Opponent | Result | Car | Rush yds | Rush TD | KR | Yds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 31 | vs. | W 29–26 | 4 | 30 | 0 | 1 | 23 |
| Sep 14 | vs. | L 17–18 | 6 | 54 | 0 | – | – |
| Sep 21 | vs. | W 72–20 | 2 | 22 | 0 | 1 | 35 |
| Sep 28 | at | L 21–23 | 3 | 13 | 0 | – | – |
| Oct 5 | vs. | W 49–24 | – | – | – | 3 | 49 |
| Oct 19 | at | W 34–24 | 1 | −4 | 0 | – | – |
| Oct 26 | vs. | L 27–34 | – | – | – | 4 | 68 |
| Nov 9 | at | L 41–42 | – | – | – | 2 | 58 |
| Nov 23 | vs. | W 41–31 | – | – | – | 3 | 82 |
| Nov 30 | at | L 17–27 | – | – | – | 1 | 24 |
| Dec 28 ✦ | vs. | L 9–33 | – | – | – | 2 | 42 |
2018 Iowa State 13 games, 157 rushing yards
| Date | Opponent | Result | Car | Rush yds | Rush TD | KR | Yds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 8 | at | L 3–13 | – | – | – | 1 | 24 |
| Sep 15 | vs. | L 27–37 | 3 | 10 | 0 | – | – |
| Sep 22 | vs. | W 26–13 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 73 |
| Sep 29 | at | L 14–17 | – | – | – | 1 | 45 |
| Oct 6 | at | W 48–42 | 10 | 49 | 0 | 1 | 30 |
| Oct 13 | vs. | W 30–14 | 5 | 26 | 0 | 1 | 16 |
| Oct 27 | vs. | W 40–31 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 58 |
| Nov 3 | at | W 27–3 | 7 | 18 | 0 | – | – |
| Nov 10 | vs. | W 28–14 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 84 |
| Nov 17 | at | L 10–24 | 7 | 31 | 0 | 3 | 66 |
| Nov 24 | vs. | W 42–38 | – | – | – | 6 | 125 |
| Dec 1 | vs. | W 27–24 | – | – | – | 3 | 66 |
| Dec 28 ✦ | vs. | L 26–28 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 56 |
2016 Iowa State 12 games, 133 rushing yards
| Date | Opponent | Result | Car | Rush yds | Rush TD | KR | Yds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 3 | vs. | L 20–25 | – | – | – | 2 | 53 |
| Sep 10 | at | L 3–42 | 7 | 31 | 0 | 2 | 42 |
| Sep 17 | at | L 20–41 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 99 |
| Sep 24 | vs. | W 44–10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | – |
| Oct 1 | vs. | L 42–45 | – | – | – | 5 | 132 |
| Oct 8 | at | L 31–38 | – | – | – | 5 | 92 |
| Oct 15 | at | L 6–27 | – | – | – | 4 | 109 |
| Oct 29 | vs. | L 26–31 | – | – | – | 5 | 107 |
| Nov 3 | vs. | L 24–34 | 6 | 25 | 0 | 4 | 102 |
| Nov 12 | at | W 31–24 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 47 |
| Nov 19 | vs. | W 66–10 | 6 | 44 | 0 | – | – |
| Nov 26 | vs. | L 19–49 | 3 | 24 | 0 | 2 | 113 |
Box scores from CollegeFootballData, 2004 on. ✦ postseason; ★ a career high on file.
Before the draft
| Drill | Pro day 2021 |
|---|---|
| Height | 6′0⅛″ |
| Weight | 210 lb |
| Arm length | 30½″ |
| Hand size | 9¼″ |
| Wingspan | 74⅝″ |
| 40-yard dash | 4.31 s |
| 10-yard split | 1.45 s |
| Vertical jump | 38″ |
| Broad jump | 10′5″ |
| Bench press | 22 reps |
| 3-cone drill | 6.83 s |
| 20-yard shuttle | 4.25 s |
Pre-draft measurables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
In the NFL
6 seasons, 45 games with a stat; latest team: New York Jets.
First-team All-Pro: 2 (2021–22) · Second-team All-Pro (AP): 2022
All-Pro teams: AP second team 2022; Sporting News first team 2021–22.
| Season | Team | G | Car | Yds | TD | Rec | Rec yds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Minnesota Vikings | 9 | 13 | 61 | 0 | 4 | 9 |
| 2022 | Minnesota Vikings | 14 | 9 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 21 |
| 2023 | Minnesota Vikings | 8 | 5 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | New York Jets | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | New York Jets | 10 | 13 | 49 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2026 (so far) | New York Jets | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| NFL career | 45 | 40 | 137 | 0 | 6 | 30 | |
Regular seasons, from nflverse (CC BY 4.0). G counts games in which the player recorded a stat. Pro Bowls and All-Pro teams by NFL season: rosters and honors, Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
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