Short-yardage / goal-line · enumeration
Who gets the tough yard
1/27Inside-5 share
1 of the team's 27 inside-the-5 carries (3.7%).
Kene Nwangwu
Last confirmed: Iowa State, 2020. No 2026 box-score games on record.
6′1″ · 210 lb · Frisco, TX · Frisco Heritage
Kene Nwangwu: RB · Iowa State · #3.
Players he’s like
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Kene Nwangwu
Does a little of everything without one standout trait. This is his fourth year in the same backfield at Iowa State. On tape: 77 rushing yards and 1 rushing TD against West Virginia, Week 14, 2020.
How he plays
How he plays
Play style
Plays within the scheme — consistent production without a dominant dimension.
News and fans
No outlet on our list has written about him by name this season.
Iowa State in the news
- Iowa State hires Jared Benko as athletics director
The Des Moines Register Oct 23 - Arizona players out for Iowa State game
Arizona Daily Star Oct 22 - Jared Benko named AD
Wide Right & Natty Lite Oct 16
Where to follow him
Career stats
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Iowa State | 61 | 339 | 5.6 | 4 |
| 2019 | Iowa State | 16 | 115 | 7.2 | 0 |
| 2018 | Iowa State | 39 | 157 | 4.0 | 0 |
| 2016 | Iowa State | 27 | 133 | 4.9 | 0 |
| Career | 143 | 744 | 5.2 | 4 |
| Season | Team | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Iowa State | 3 | 22 | 7.3 | 0 |
| 2019 | Iowa State | 1 | 8 | 8.0 | 0 |
| 2018 | Iowa State | 2 | 11 | 5.5 | 0 |
| 2016 | Iowa State | 1 | 16 | 16.0 | 0 |
| Career | 7 | 57 | 8.1 | 0 |
Game log
Game log · Week-by-week
2020 season · 11 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 2 | L 14-31vs Louisiana | 7 | 21 | 3.0 | 1 | 9 | |
| Wk 4 | W 37-34@ TCU | 1 | 49 | 49.0 | 1 | 49 | |
| Wk 5 | W 37-30vs No. 18 Oklahoma | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Wk 6 | W 31-15vs Texas Tech | 7 | 37 | 5.3 | 0 | 28 | |
| Wk 8 | L 21-24@ No. 6 Oklahoma State | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 0 | 4 | |
| Wk 9 | W 52-22@ Kansas | 5 | 57 | 11.4 | 1 | 24 | |
| Wk 10 | W 38-31vs Baylor | 4 | 11 | 2.8 | 0 | 8 | |
| Wk 12 | W 45-0vs Kansas State | 11 | 16 | 1.5 | 0 | 6 | |
| Wk 13 | W 23-20@ No. 20 Texas | 4 | 11 | 2.8 | 0 | 5 | |
| Wk 14 | W 42-6vs West Virginia | 9 | 77 | 8.6 | 1 | 47 | Season-high 77 yds |
| Wk 16 | L 21-27vs No. 12 Oklahoma | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Total | 50 | 284 | 5.7 | 4 | 49 |
Signature game
Week 14 · 2020
W 42-6
Signature plays
The plays that mattered most
- Week 12 · Kansas State · 4th and 1 · Q4 · EPA −4.00Kene Nwangwu run for no gain to the KanSt 11
- Week 4 · TCU · 1st and 10 · Q3 · EPA +3.76Kene Nwangwu 49 Yd Run
- Week 14 · West Virginia · 1st and 10 · Q3 · EPA +3.61Kene Nwangwu 47 Yd Run
- Week 9 · Kansas · 1st and 10 · Q1 · EPA +2.59Kene Nwangwu run for 18 yds for a TD (Connor Assalley KICK)
- Week 10 · Baylor · 3rd and 2 · Q1 · EPA +1.63Kene Nwangwu run for 6 yds to the 50 yard line for a
- Week 12 · Kansas State · 1st and 10 · Q2 · EPA −1.61Kene Nwangwu run for a loss of 4 yards to the KanSt 42
4 more plays
- Week 13 · Texas · 3rd and 1 · Q3 · EPA −1.47Kene Nwangwu run for a loss of 2 yards to the IowSt 46
- Week 1 · Oregon · 1st and 10 · Q3 · EPA +1.36Kene Nwangwu run for 9 yds to the IowSt 40
- Week 1 · Oregon · 1st and 10 · Q1 · EPA −1.36Kene Nwangwu run for a loss of 1 yard to the IowSt 41
- Week 2 · Louisiana · 1st and 10 · Q4 · EPA +1.34Kene Nwangwu run for 9 yds to the IowSt 49
Rushing profile
Rush profile · Shape, efficiency, and ball security
How he gets his yards, and how often it works
61 of 61 carries matched to play-by-play
Success rate
40%50 carriesStuffed
0 or fewer yds21%of carries
13 carries
Grind
1–3 yds33%of carries
20 carries
Chunk
4–9 yds34%of carries
21 carries
Explosive
10+ yds11%of carries
7 carries
3 of 7 (43%) converted on 3rd/4th & short (≤2 to go)
5.6 yds/carry on 61 carries · 11% explosive (10+ yds) · 40% success rate.
Teams and coaches
4 seasons under Matt Campbell — 27-23 over that span.
2016Iowa State3-9HC: Matt Campbell · Run-leaning
2018Iowa State8-5HC: Matt Campbell · Run-leaning
2019Iowa State7-6HC: Matt Campbell · Balanced
2020Iowa State9-3HC: Matt Campbell · Run-leaning
Our ratings
Splits
Home and road splits, scheme and staff
Splits · Per-game
2020 season · 11 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 27.0 | 4.2 | 0.3 |
| Road4g | 30.2 | 16.8 | 0.5 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-74g | 26.8 | 19.1 | 0.5 |
| Weeks 8+7g | 25.3 | 4.6 | 0.3 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Matt Campbell
Pass share
45.5%
372 pass / 446 run
Plays / game
74.4
11 games
Team sack rate
3.2%
400 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Awards
Player standing · 2020
61 carries and 3 catches in 11 games
Fewer touches a game than most FBS running backs who play every week.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Five seasons at Iowa State, drafted
- 2021 Drafted in round 4, No. 119 by the Minnesota
- 2020 Iowa State CampbellYear 5 · 11 games
- 2019 Iowa State CampbellYear 4 · 11 games
- 2018 Iowa State CampbellYear 3 · 13 games
- 2017 Iowa State CampbellYear 2 · on the roster, no stat line
- 2016 Iowa State CampbellYear 1 · 12 games
- Before collegeSigned with Iowa State in 2016 as a 3-star recruit, No. 1,000 in the country.
His moves
- Signed with Iowa State in the 2016 class, a 3-star recruit.
How it ended
Four seasons at Iowa State, 744 rushing yards — drafted at #119 overall by the Minnesota Vikings.
His career
He has a stat line in 47 games over 4 seasons.
2016 12 games
- Signed with Iowa State3-star out of Frisco Heritage
2021
- Drafted by Minnesota Vikingsround 4, pick 119
Coaching lineage · 2016–2020
1 coach2016–2020
Iowa State
Played his entire career under Matt Campbell.
Where he ended up · NFL
Minnesota VikingsEntering 6th NFL season
#119Rd 4 · Pick 14
Minnesota VikingsEntering 6th NFL season