From West Point, NY to Tempe, AZ to now Lynchburg, VA, running back Kanye Udoh has seen many different areas of the country in a 3-year span.
The former Army and Arizona State running back committed to
Liberty for his final year of eligibility on Thursday, Jan. 22.
Udoh spent two years at Army (2023-24), quickly becoming a focal point of a nationally renowned rushing attack. As a true freshman in 2023, he ranked second on the Black Knights and first among running backs with 524 rushing yards, notching one touchdown and averaging 5.3 yards per carry.
In 2024, a sophomore version of Udoh more than doubled his freshman production. He ranked 31st in the FBS and sixth in the American Conference with 1,117 rushing yards. Udoh became the first Army running back to eclipse 1,000 yards since Larry Dixon in 2014 and recorded the most yards of any Army running back since Raymond Maples in 2012. He averaged 6.2 yards per carry and punched in 10 touchdowns, earning Second Team All-American Conference honors during a spectacular season. Udoh rushed for 158 yards in Army’s American Conference Championship Game victory over Tulane, solidifying the Black Knights’ first conference title in program history. The running back was a focal point of the winningest Army team of all-time and decided to enter the portal that December.
Udoh landed at Arizona State where he was initially a focal point of the run game. In his second contest with the Sun Devils, he rushed for 105 yards and a touchdown on 23 touches at Mississippi State. However, he only racked up 33 carries across 10 other games while sharing a running back room with lead back Raleek Brown and other secondary options Kyson Brown and Jason Brown Jr.
The former all-conference running back now arrives at Liberty, where he will play for a third team in a third different conference over a 3-year span. Udoh, who once mastered Army’s option scheme, walks into a different brand of option football at Liberty — but one that also heavily features the run game. Head coach Jamey Chadwell spearheaded the nation’s No. 1 rushing attack in 2023, No. 4 unit in 2024, and No. 26 unit in 2025 in terms of per game production. Chadwell’s Flames have produced a 1,200-yard rusher in three-straight years, including 2023 Quinton Cooley and 2025 Evan Dickens who both ranked top 10 in the FBS. Udoh, who once exceeded 1,100 in a season, hopes to revert to that level in his new Conference USA home.
Udoh joins a running back room which loses Dickens but gains Terron Kellman (Wyoming) and Justin Marshall (Colorado State) who gained valuable experience in the Mountain West, as well as former Florida State tailback Kam Davis. Liberty’s new-look running back room first takes the stage Sept. 5 in a non-conference matchup at reigning Sun Belt champion and College Football Playoff participant James Madison.
