Kanye Udoh’s sensational sophomore season

Kanye Udoh broke into a smile when answering a question about his game-changing play in American Athletic Conference championship

Udoh, Army’s sensational sophomore running back, broke off a career-best 72-yard run in the first quarter before getting barely tripped up inside Tulane’s 5. The Black Knights would score a touchdown on the next play. 

“First off, I should have scored,” said the humble Udoh, who has six runs of 40 or more yards this season. “I let the guy get my ankle at the end. Just hitting it zone side, one-on-one with the corner and able to make him miss and off to the races.

Udoh tied his career high with 158 yards, set against Air Force earlier this season, in Army’s 35-14 win. The effort was Udoh’s fifth 100-yard game of the season and seventh of his career. He surpassed 1,000 yards for the season. becoming the third Army sophomore to reach the mark. Udoh is the first Army non-quarterback to rush for 1,000 yards in a season since Larry Dixon in 2014.

Army has proven to be tough to beat this season, winning 11 out of 12 games. When Udoh and quarterback Bryson Daily reach 100 rushing yards in the same game, like they did against Tulane, the Black Knights’ offense becomes nearly impossible to stop.

Getting Udoh carries early against Tulane was key. Udoh picked up five and six yards on the Army’s second and third plays, gaining some tough yards up the middle. He would have two more carries on the opening touchdown drive. Ultimately, Udoh’s work inside the tackles allow him to bounce his 72-yard run outside.

Udoh had only seven carries in Army’s previous game, a 29-24 win over UTSA and 10 touches in the Black Knights’ only loss to Notre Dame the week before. Feeding Udoh early and often can open up some options for Daily.

Udoh and Daily are the first Army duo to rush for 1,000 yards in the same season since Trent Steelman and Raymond Maples in 2012. They have combined for 2,544 rushing yards (Daily 1,480, Udoh 1,064), second highest Army pair in a single season (Ahmad Bradshaw and Darnell Woolfolk 2,558 in 2017) and have scored 39 touchdowns (Daily 29, Udoh 10).

One of Army’s most dynamic backfield has two more games left to play together. The next one is the biggest game of the season – the Army-Navy Saturday in Landover, Md.