Post by Purple Pain on Dec 5, 2021 7:48:41 GMT -6
How is Kene going to look in a bigger role? We're about to find out today!
‘Like nothing you’ve ever seen’: After impressing as a returner, Vikings RB Kene Nwangwu set for bigger role by Chad Graff
Link:
theathletic.com/2991896/2021/12/01/after-impressing-as-returner-vikings-rb-kene-nwangwu-set-for-bigger-role/
Purple Insider: Kene Nwangwu is football fast
Link:
purpleinsider.substack.com/p/kene-nwangwu-is-football-fast
‘Like nothing you’ve ever seen’: After impressing as a returner, Vikings RB Kene Nwangwu set for bigger role by Chad Graff
Nate Scheelhaase had been around plenty of fast players during his four-year stint as a Division I quarterback at Illinois. He had felt the brush of air that seemed to skirt by when an especially quick runner sprinted past him. He’d felt the buzz of a sideline watching a teammate capable of wild 40-yard dash speeds pull away from defenders.
But when Scheelhaase got to Iowa State as a running backs coach in 2018, he saw a different speed. Yeah, Kene Nwangwu looked fast. Yeah, he clocked quick times, including the 4.32 40-yard dash he later ran at his pro day. But there was something unusual about Nwangwu’s speed, something that stuck out to his new position coach the first day they practiced together.
Nwangwu sounded fast.
“When you’re down on the field with Kene, there isn’t anything like that power and force that he puts into the ground as he’s running with the football,” Scheelhaase said. “It is like nothing you’ve ever seen. A 40 time is a 40 time, but you can feel it when you’re down on the field with him that, man, this guy has a whole lot more in the tank than even some of the fastest people or most powerful people that I’ve ever been around.”
That speed was a major reason the Vikings drafted Nwangwu in the fourth round this spring even though Nwangwu was a career backup for the Cyclones and a major reason he was one of the team’s most exciting players in training camp. After a preseason knee injury shelved Nwangwu for the first seven weeks of the season, he has been the NFL’s best kickoff returner the last month, taking two kicks back for scores in the last four weeks, and is poised to earn a bigger role on offense with Dalvin Cook expected to miss at least two games because of a shoulder injury.
“We’ll find some ways to use him,” Mike Zimmer said of Nwangwu with Sunday’s game against the winless Detroit Lions looming.
For an idea of how Nwangwu could be used for the Vikings, it’s helpful to look back at his Iowa State career. Like in Minnesota, Nwangwu was stuck behind two high-profile running backs, first as a backup to David Montgomery and then as a backup to Breece Hall, who started as a freshman.
In the modern college football landscape, Nwangwu could’ve been the prime example of a player taking advantage of relaxed transfer rules to head to a different school in search of more playing time. He was a three-star recruit with offers from Iowa and Northwestern and surely could’ve found an opportunity at a Power 5 school.
But Nwangwu chose to stay. Even though Hall arrived before Nwangwu’s junior year when Iowa State had an opening at running back after Montgomery went to the NFL, Nwangwu mentored Hall. With Nwangwu’s help, Hall became the starter as a freshman over Nwangwu.
“Breece really learned from Kene,” Scheelhaase said. “Breece grew and learned from Kene and a lot of who Breece became was because of Kene’s tutelage as somebody that was a veteran and had some experience.”
Nwangwu knew what his role was and accepted it even if he wanted more playing time on offense. Instead, Nwangwu embraced special teams. Coaches at Iowa State talked to him often about the importance of returning kicks.
“Kick return is unique,” Scheelhaase said. “You’re coming off the field, other than at the start of the game or half, but you’re coming on after the other team has probably shifted the momentum by scoring. He was that for our program. In those moments, we had a different level of confidence about what was next after the other team scored because him touching the ball was going to be a huge opportunity for us.”
Last season, when Iowa State won nine games and finished in the top 10, it leaned on Nwangwu to swing games. In its Big 12 opener against Oklahoma, the Sooners took a 30-23 lead in the fourth quarter after a strip-sack of Cyclones quarterback Brock Purdy. Everything seemed to be going Oklahoma’s way. But Nwangwu returned the ensuing kickoff 85 yards and set up the tying score in an eventual Iowa State win.
A few weeks later against Baylor, Iowa State was falling apart and trailing 24-10 in the second half after a fumble turned into a Baylor touchdown. Nwangwu returned the ensuing kickoff 67 yards and sparked a comeback win for the Cyclones.
“Those kick returns changed the trajectory of the games and we ultimately ended up winning both,” Scheelhaase said. “I think he inspired our team in a different way.”
At the start of Nwangwu’s Vikings career, his role has been similar to that. Against Baltimore and San Francisco, he figured he’d get more of a chance to bring back a kickoff in a league with so few returns since the games were outside. By the time he reached midfield against the 49ers, he’d already run past all the defenders, aided by some big blocks along the way.
“The one at Baltimore was pretty big, but this one was pickup big — like you could drive a car through it,” Nwangwu said of the hole created by his teammates.
Nwangwu will have that role again Sunday against the Lions. But it’s his potential on offense that has Vikings teammates and coaches excited. Typically when Cook has been hurt, the Vikings have trusted Alexander Mattison in the same role Cook plays, getting 20-25 carries per game. But with Nwangwu’s emergence, the Vikings may spell Mattison a bit more and try to get the ball in Nwangwu’s hands, whether that’s through screens or traditional handoffs.
“I’m excited about him,” Kirk Cousins said. “I’m excited about his future. He’s already shown everybody what he can do returning the football. It was unfortunate that he got hurt returning the football in the preseason, otherwise we probably could have brought him along faster. He’s studying hard, he’s a pro in the way he goes about his business, and he certainly has the athletic ability to be a great player. Looking forward to giving him more opportunities and letting him show the kind of player that he is to everybody that’s watching.”
But when Scheelhaase got to Iowa State as a running backs coach in 2018, he saw a different speed. Yeah, Kene Nwangwu looked fast. Yeah, he clocked quick times, including the 4.32 40-yard dash he later ran at his pro day. But there was something unusual about Nwangwu’s speed, something that stuck out to his new position coach the first day they practiced together.
Nwangwu sounded fast.
“When you’re down on the field with Kene, there isn’t anything like that power and force that he puts into the ground as he’s running with the football,” Scheelhaase said. “It is like nothing you’ve ever seen. A 40 time is a 40 time, but you can feel it when you’re down on the field with him that, man, this guy has a whole lot more in the tank than even some of the fastest people or most powerful people that I’ve ever been around.”
That speed was a major reason the Vikings drafted Nwangwu in the fourth round this spring even though Nwangwu was a career backup for the Cyclones and a major reason he was one of the team’s most exciting players in training camp. After a preseason knee injury shelved Nwangwu for the first seven weeks of the season, he has been the NFL’s best kickoff returner the last month, taking two kicks back for scores in the last four weeks, and is poised to earn a bigger role on offense with Dalvin Cook expected to miss at least two games because of a shoulder injury.
“We’ll find some ways to use him,” Mike Zimmer said of Nwangwu with Sunday’s game against the winless Detroit Lions looming.
For an idea of how Nwangwu could be used for the Vikings, it’s helpful to look back at his Iowa State career. Like in Minnesota, Nwangwu was stuck behind two high-profile running backs, first as a backup to David Montgomery and then as a backup to Breece Hall, who started as a freshman.
In the modern college football landscape, Nwangwu could’ve been the prime example of a player taking advantage of relaxed transfer rules to head to a different school in search of more playing time. He was a three-star recruit with offers from Iowa and Northwestern and surely could’ve found an opportunity at a Power 5 school.
But Nwangwu chose to stay. Even though Hall arrived before Nwangwu’s junior year when Iowa State had an opening at running back after Montgomery went to the NFL, Nwangwu mentored Hall. With Nwangwu’s help, Hall became the starter as a freshman over Nwangwu.
“Breece really learned from Kene,” Scheelhaase said. “Breece grew and learned from Kene and a lot of who Breece became was because of Kene’s tutelage as somebody that was a veteran and had some experience.”
Nwangwu knew what his role was and accepted it even if he wanted more playing time on offense. Instead, Nwangwu embraced special teams. Coaches at Iowa State talked to him often about the importance of returning kicks.
“Kick return is unique,” Scheelhaase said. “You’re coming off the field, other than at the start of the game or half, but you’re coming on after the other team has probably shifted the momentum by scoring. He was that for our program. In those moments, we had a different level of confidence about what was next after the other team scored because him touching the ball was going to be a huge opportunity for us.”
Last season, when Iowa State won nine games and finished in the top 10, it leaned on Nwangwu to swing games. In its Big 12 opener against Oklahoma, the Sooners took a 30-23 lead in the fourth quarter after a strip-sack of Cyclones quarterback Brock Purdy. Everything seemed to be going Oklahoma’s way. But Nwangwu returned the ensuing kickoff 85 yards and set up the tying score in an eventual Iowa State win.
A few weeks later against Baylor, Iowa State was falling apart and trailing 24-10 in the second half after a fumble turned into a Baylor touchdown. Nwangwu returned the ensuing kickoff 67 yards and sparked a comeback win for the Cyclones.
“Those kick returns changed the trajectory of the games and we ultimately ended up winning both,” Scheelhaase said. “I think he inspired our team in a different way.”
At the start of Nwangwu’s Vikings career, his role has been similar to that. Against Baltimore and San Francisco, he figured he’d get more of a chance to bring back a kickoff in a league with so few returns since the games were outside. By the time he reached midfield against the 49ers, he’d already run past all the defenders, aided by some big blocks along the way.
“The one at Baltimore was pretty big, but this one was pickup big — like you could drive a car through it,” Nwangwu said of the hole created by his teammates.
Nwangwu will have that role again Sunday against the Lions. But it’s his potential on offense that has Vikings teammates and coaches excited. Typically when Cook has been hurt, the Vikings have trusted Alexander Mattison in the same role Cook plays, getting 20-25 carries per game. But with Nwangwu’s emergence, the Vikings may spell Mattison a bit more and try to get the ball in Nwangwu’s hands, whether that’s through screens or traditional handoffs.
“I’m excited about him,” Kirk Cousins said. “I’m excited about his future. He’s already shown everybody what he can do returning the football. It was unfortunate that he got hurt returning the football in the preseason, otherwise we probably could have brought him along faster. He’s studying hard, he’s a pro in the way he goes about his business, and he certainly has the athletic ability to be a great player. Looking forward to giving him more opportunities and letting him show the kind of player that he is to everybody that’s watching.”
theathletic.com/2991896/2021/12/01/after-impressing-as-returner-vikings-rb-kene-nwangwu-set-for-bigger-role/
Purple Insider: Kene Nwangwu is football fast
“He’s an explosive athlete,” special teams coordinator Ryan Ficken said. “He can get to his top-end speed really quickly. He’s quick. He can make that one violent cut … and can get vertical right away without even breaking his stride. But it’s just his awareness and understanding where the bodies are on the field, just those natural instincts. You saw that in college, that’s why we wanted to go ahead and grab him.”
His 4.3 40-yard dash time put the former Iowa State Cyclone running back in the 98th percentile of all players who have come out in the draft. He was only 0.08 behind the fastest running back in NFL history, former Tennessee Titan Chris Johnson.
Nwangwu said that he knew from a very young age that he was a roadrunner in a world of wile coyotes.
“We were at a family picnic and I was running with 12 year olds and I was like six and I was beating them,” he said. “And then my auntie was telling my mom, your son, you might need to put him in sports and all that. I just try to go out there and use my God-given abilities the best I can.”
But running a blazing 40 time doesn’t always translate to the field the way it instantly has for Nwangwu. The speediest man ever at the Combine, receiver John Ross, has 61 career catches since coming into the NFL in 2017. If you’re a Madden player who likes to sign the 99 speed guys off the free agent wire, you might have heard of Dri Archer, JJ Nelson or Jalen Myrick.
Of course, there are also plenty of legends who were fast as all get out. Football lore would tell you that Bo Jackson ran a 4.12. Deion Sanders was hand-timed at 4.27. There have been reports that Randy Moss scooted a 4.25 as a freshman.
So what’s the difference? Why are some players crazy fast but only remembered for their 40 times while others use their quickness to thrive at the highest level?
“I think the term we use is 'Football Speed,’” quarterback Kirk Cousins said.
“Natural football speed in terms of being able to transition in and out of cuts and in and out of routes, drop their weight, change direction, it's a different kind of movement skill and certainly a running back has to do much of that,” Cousins continued. “You'll always take the ability to do that and be 4.3 over the ability to do that and be 4.6 but you'd like to think Kene has both tools and that's a large reason he's been so effective and why we're excited to have him.”
The Vikings’ quarterback used the NFL’s greatest returner Devin Hester, who ran a solid 4.41, as an example.
“Devin Hester, he was a great kick returner, it wasn't like he was 4.2 but he had an ability to never lose speed as he cut,” Cousins said. “When you can keep your speed up as you're cutting, it's that much harder to bring you down.”
Mike Zimmer judges speed by how fast a player looks in comparison to the competition.
“I think the biggest thing there is that you see them against the other guys, you see the acceleration, the guy running away from the fast guys,” Zimmer said. “Some guys put the pads on, and they run a 4.5, not 4.3. If you see them running away from fast players, typically you know they are pretty fast. You know, like J.J., you see him running away from fast guys.”
The NFL now has an accurate way to figure out which players are fastest with pads on and the ball in their hands, rather than short-shorts and tank tops. NFLNextGEN stats track each player’s speed down to the decimal. Last week, Nwangwu’s top speed was 20.19 mph, which was the 12th highest of any player carrying the ball last week. Coincidentally, the fastest top speed with the ball came against the Vikings on Marquez Valdez-Scantling’s 75-yard touchdown when he reached 22.09 mph.
Zimmer named-dropped Deion as the fastest “football fast” player he’s ever coached.
Nwangwu was a tremendous track athlete in high school, owning school records in the high jump (6-10), long jump (24-2.75), 100 meters (10.71) and 200 meters (22.0). He said that track helped him solidify his running form to get everything out of his God-given ability.
“For me, it’s just incorporating that into football working with patience and vision,” Nwangwu said.
Having the combination of track speed and football speed is something former Viking Robert Smith knows all about. On the Purple Insider podcast, the two-time Pro Bowl running back talked about the impact on an offense of having a player with both.
“That extra bit of speed is deadly,” Smith said. “Because no matter how much you prepare for it, even if you think you’re taking the right angle or if you think you’re going to get to where you need to be on time, you only need to be one-hundredth of a second off and it’s the difference between that play got filled properly from a run-fit perspective to, it’s a touchdown. That’s what the game is about.”
That’s why the Vikings are excited about Nwangwu’s potential. With Dalvin Cook out, there’s a chance we could see more of him on the offensive side this week against the Detroit Lions (though he is listed as questionable with an illness) and down the stretch. He’s only carried the ball twice but picked up 16 yards in a flash.
So why wouldn’t the Vikings put him in and let him run wild?
“With most young backs, protection is always the toughest thing,” Zimmer said. “It’s not really running with the ball … it’s protections, it’s understanding your route concepts, where you have to be on certain routes and things like that.”
Smith agrees with Zimmer.
“He’s going to have to block at some point and if he doesn’t know who he’s supposed to block, he can’t step on the field,” Smith said. “If he doesn’t know who to block, he can’t step on the field, period, because he’s going to get somebody hurt, namely his quarterback, which teams don’t like having hurt.”
It’s always challenging for rookie running backs to learn how to pass protect because defenses are throwing many more pass rush looks than they’ll ever see in college. Not to mention that Nwangwu rarely played in pass-pro situations in college and missed a big chunk of the season with an injury suffered in preseason.
Zimmer noted that he’s still catching up on how the running scheme works.
“He’s still learning some of the run game … they call it, ‘where the dot is,’ and then trying to get to stretch that dot and bring it back the other way or continue to go to the perimeter,” Zimmer said.
No time to learn like the present. With Cook out, the Vikings are missing one of their biggest threats for explosive plays. While Cook’s replacement Alexander Mattison has proven capable, he isn’t a home run threat. Mattison hasn’t produced a run over 30 yards in his career.
So it’s next man up. Only the next man up is lightning.
“His top-end is definitely up there with the best I’ve seen,” receiver Adam Thielen said. “And you’re starting to see that more and more in these games…We’re going to need him moving forward to help us win football games.’’
His 4.3 40-yard dash time put the former Iowa State Cyclone running back in the 98th percentile of all players who have come out in the draft. He was only 0.08 behind the fastest running back in NFL history, former Tennessee Titan Chris Johnson.
Nwangwu said that he knew from a very young age that he was a roadrunner in a world of wile coyotes.
“We were at a family picnic and I was running with 12 year olds and I was like six and I was beating them,” he said. “And then my auntie was telling my mom, your son, you might need to put him in sports and all that. I just try to go out there and use my God-given abilities the best I can.”
But running a blazing 40 time doesn’t always translate to the field the way it instantly has for Nwangwu. The speediest man ever at the Combine, receiver John Ross, has 61 career catches since coming into the NFL in 2017. If you’re a Madden player who likes to sign the 99 speed guys off the free agent wire, you might have heard of Dri Archer, JJ Nelson or Jalen Myrick.
Of course, there are also plenty of legends who were fast as all get out. Football lore would tell you that Bo Jackson ran a 4.12. Deion Sanders was hand-timed at 4.27. There have been reports that Randy Moss scooted a 4.25 as a freshman.
So what’s the difference? Why are some players crazy fast but only remembered for their 40 times while others use their quickness to thrive at the highest level?
“I think the term we use is 'Football Speed,’” quarterback Kirk Cousins said.
“Natural football speed in terms of being able to transition in and out of cuts and in and out of routes, drop their weight, change direction, it's a different kind of movement skill and certainly a running back has to do much of that,” Cousins continued. “You'll always take the ability to do that and be 4.3 over the ability to do that and be 4.6 but you'd like to think Kene has both tools and that's a large reason he's been so effective and why we're excited to have him.”
The Vikings’ quarterback used the NFL’s greatest returner Devin Hester, who ran a solid 4.41, as an example.
“Devin Hester, he was a great kick returner, it wasn't like he was 4.2 but he had an ability to never lose speed as he cut,” Cousins said. “When you can keep your speed up as you're cutting, it's that much harder to bring you down.”
Mike Zimmer judges speed by how fast a player looks in comparison to the competition.
“I think the biggest thing there is that you see them against the other guys, you see the acceleration, the guy running away from the fast guys,” Zimmer said. “Some guys put the pads on, and they run a 4.5, not 4.3. If you see them running away from fast players, typically you know they are pretty fast. You know, like J.J., you see him running away from fast guys.”
The NFL now has an accurate way to figure out which players are fastest with pads on and the ball in their hands, rather than short-shorts and tank tops. NFLNextGEN stats track each player’s speed down to the decimal. Last week, Nwangwu’s top speed was 20.19 mph, which was the 12th highest of any player carrying the ball last week. Coincidentally, the fastest top speed with the ball came against the Vikings on Marquez Valdez-Scantling’s 75-yard touchdown when he reached 22.09 mph.
Zimmer named-dropped Deion as the fastest “football fast” player he’s ever coached.
Nwangwu was a tremendous track athlete in high school, owning school records in the high jump (6-10), long jump (24-2.75), 100 meters (10.71) and 200 meters (22.0). He said that track helped him solidify his running form to get everything out of his God-given ability.
“For me, it’s just incorporating that into football working with patience and vision,” Nwangwu said.
Having the combination of track speed and football speed is something former Viking Robert Smith knows all about. On the Purple Insider podcast, the two-time Pro Bowl running back talked about the impact on an offense of having a player with both.
“That extra bit of speed is deadly,” Smith said. “Because no matter how much you prepare for it, even if you think you’re taking the right angle or if you think you’re going to get to where you need to be on time, you only need to be one-hundredth of a second off and it’s the difference between that play got filled properly from a run-fit perspective to, it’s a touchdown. That’s what the game is about.”
That’s why the Vikings are excited about Nwangwu’s potential. With Dalvin Cook out, there’s a chance we could see more of him on the offensive side this week against the Detroit Lions (though he is listed as questionable with an illness) and down the stretch. He’s only carried the ball twice but picked up 16 yards in a flash.
So why wouldn’t the Vikings put him in and let him run wild?
“With most young backs, protection is always the toughest thing,” Zimmer said. “It’s not really running with the ball … it’s protections, it’s understanding your route concepts, where you have to be on certain routes and things like that.”
Smith agrees with Zimmer.
“He’s going to have to block at some point and if he doesn’t know who he’s supposed to block, he can’t step on the field,” Smith said. “If he doesn’t know who to block, he can’t step on the field, period, because he’s going to get somebody hurt, namely his quarterback, which teams don’t like having hurt.”
It’s always challenging for rookie running backs to learn how to pass protect because defenses are throwing many more pass rush looks than they’ll ever see in college. Not to mention that Nwangwu rarely played in pass-pro situations in college and missed a big chunk of the season with an injury suffered in preseason.
Zimmer noted that he’s still catching up on how the running scheme works.
“He’s still learning some of the run game … they call it, ‘where the dot is,’ and then trying to get to stretch that dot and bring it back the other way or continue to go to the perimeter,” Zimmer said.
No time to learn like the present. With Cook out, the Vikings are missing one of their biggest threats for explosive plays. While Cook’s replacement Alexander Mattison has proven capable, he isn’t a home run threat. Mattison hasn’t produced a run over 30 yards in his career.
So it’s next man up. Only the next man up is lightning.
“His top-end is definitely up there with the best I’ve seen,” receiver Adam Thielen said. “And you’re starting to see that more and more in these games…We’re going to need him moving forward to help us win football games.’’
purpleinsider.substack.com/p/kene-nwangwu-is-football-fast
... and neither is this Chris guy.