Kenechi Nduka Udeze (; born March 5, 1983) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

coach and former player who is the assistant defensive line coach for the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

(NFL). He previously served as the

linebackers coach In American football, a position coach is a team official in charge of coaching a specific position group. Position coaches have more specialized duties than the head coach, assistant coach, and the offensive and defensive coordinators. Common ...

at the

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

in 2020. Udeze played as a

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is p ...

in the NFL for four seasons during the early 2000s. He played college football for the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8. ...

(USC), and earned consensus All-American honors. The Minnesota Vikings picked Udeze in the first round of the

2004 NFL Draft The 2004 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 24–25, 2004 at the Theater a ...

. He was forced to retire in 2008 after he was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Early years

Udeze was born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

. He attended

Verbum Dei High School Verbum Dei Jesuit High School, also known as the Verb, is a private Catholic all-boys college preparatory school sponsored by the Society of Jesus in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1962 by the Society of the Divine Word to serve stude ...

, a Jesuit-affiliated Roman Catholic school in Los Angeles, where he played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, partl ...

for the Verbum Dei Eagles and competed in track as a

shot putter The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

(top-throw of 56-7 or 17.34m).

Playing career

College

While attending the University of Southern California, Udeze played for coach

Pete Carroll Peter Clay Carroll (born September 15, 1951) is an American football coach who is the head coach and executive vice president for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He was previously the head football coach at USC from ...

USC Trojans football The USC Trojans football program represents University of Southern California in the sport of American football. The Trojans compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Ath ...

team from 2001 to 2003. He was a three-year starter and helped his team to a 2004 Rose Bowl victory and AP national title as a junior. He finished his college career with 135 tackles (51 of them for a loss), 28 sacks (a school record), 14 forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, one interception, five pass deflections, and two blocked kicks. As a junior in 2003, he was a first-team All-Pac-10 selection, and was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American.

National Football League

Minnesota Vikings

Udeze was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the first round (twentieth overall pick) of the

. During his rookie season with the Vikings, he started 15 games and recorded 36

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking up ...

, five sacks, one forced

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful h ...

, and one

pass deflected In American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. T ...

. As a second year pro, Udeze was injured in the Vikings third game of the season with cartilage damage in his left knee, which kept him out the rest of the year. Udeze finished the season with three games started, five tackles, and one

quarterback sack In gridiron football, a sack occurs when the quarterback (or another offensive player acting as a passer) is tackled behind the line of scrimmage before throwing a forward pass, when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage in t ...

. In 2006, he was once again the starter at left defensive end, playing 16 games, starting 15 and recorded 29 tackles and no sacks. The following year, he again playing in all 16 games, with 15 starts, and had 47 tackles and five sacks.

Illness and retirement

On February 11, 2008, it was announced that Udeze was diagnosed by doctors with a form of

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ...

: acute lymphoblastic leukemia.Udeze ends comeback try
Associated Press, July 30, 2009, Accessed May 15, 2010.

KMSP-TV KMSP-TV (channel 9) is a television station licensed to Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, broadcasting the Fox network to the Twin Cities area. It is owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division alongside MyNetwo ...

(Ch. 9) also reported that Udeze was at Fairview Southdale Hospital undergoing tests and that he was at the Mayo Clinic in

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

the week before. Udeze revealed that his

acute leukemia Acute leukemia or acute leukaemia is a family of serious medical conditions relating to an original diagnosis of leukemia. In most cases, these can be classified according to the lineage, myeloid or lymphoid, of the malignant cells that grow unco ...

is in a state of

remission Remission often refers to: *Forgiveness Remission may also refer to: Healthcare and science *Remission (medicine), the state of absence of disease activity in patients with a chronic illness, with the possibility of return of disease activity *R ...

. Udeze received a

bone marrow Bone marrow is a semi-solid tissue found within the spongy (also known as cancellous) portions of bones. In birds and mammals, bone marrow is the primary site of new blood cell production (or haematopoiesis). It is composed of hematopoieti ...

transplant from his brother. The Vikings placed Udeze on the non-football injury list and eventually injured reserve in July 2008, ending his season. Udeze returned to the

Metrodome The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (commonly called the Metrodome) was a domed sports stadium located in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. It opened in 1982 as a replacement for Metropolitan Stadium, the former home of the National Football League' ...

as an honorary captain for a game against the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the th ...

on November 9, 2008, where he said he would return to playing football. "You know what? I'll be back next year," Udeze told the

St. Paul Pioneer Press The ''St. Paul Pioneer Press'' is a newspaper based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. It serves the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. Circulation is heaviest in the east metro, including Ramsey, Dakota, and Washington counties, a ...

. Udeze was able to get back into good enough condition to return to the Vikings for 2009 pre-season training, reaching the physical form he was in before his illness. He took 26 snaps during a Vikings

mini-camp A mini-camp, also spelled minicamp, is a short camp held by National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL) teams usually in spring of each year. The camp usually only lasts 3 days, but the length varies by a day or two depending ...

, but struggled with

peripheral neuropathy Peripheral neuropathy, often shortened to neuropathy, is a general term describing disease affecting the peripheral nerves, meaning nerves beyond the brain and spinal cord. Damage to peripheral nerves may impair sensation, movement, gland, or or ...

in his feet, a result of his chemotherapy. The chemotherapy-induced neuropathy caused numbness that kept him from being able to plant firmly and create a burst up the field after the snap. Finding himself unable to move at the level he was accustomed to, Udeze decided to retire, which he announced on July 29, 2009.

Coaching career

Washington

In 2009, Udeze joined

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seat ...

as their assistant strength and conditioning coach. Udeze was hired by the former USC assistant coach

Steve Sarkisian Stephen Sarkisian (born March 8, 1974)Stephens, Ken. – "QB GENEALOGY – Steve Sarkisian is latest in long line of talented BYU quarterbacks". – FUN FACT, Sarkisian’s father is actually Texas Tech Head Coach, Joey McGuire. ''Dallas Mo ...

, who had become head coach at Washington. He also worked with the defensive line. He also works heavily with charities that help raise money for cancer research.

Seattle Seahawks

In 2012, Udeze was hired as an assistant defensive line coach for the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 a ...

Minnesota Vikings

In 2013, Udeze completed the Bill Walsh NFL Minority Coaching Fellowship program with the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansio ...

Pittsburgh

In 2014, Udeze was hired as an assistant strength and conditioning coach at the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...

USC

In 2015, Udeze returned to his alma mater,

, to work as an assistant strength and conditioning coach, where he rejoined former Washington coaches

and Ivan Lewis. In 2016, he was made defensive line coach.

LSU

In 2019, Udeze was hired as a Defensive Analyst at

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

, reuniting with his former defensive line coach at USC

Ed Orgeron Edward James Orgeron Jr. (; born July 27, 1961) is an American football coach. He was most recently the head football coach at Louisiana State University (LSU), a position he held from midway through the 2016 season until the 2021 season. Org ...

, who is now the head coach at LSU.

Vanderbilt

On January 21, 2020, Udeze joined

as their linebackers coach.

Tennessee Titans

On January 29, 2021, Udeze was hired by the

as their assistant defensive line coach under head coach

Mike Vrabel Michael George Vrabel (; born August 14, 1975) is an American football coach and former linebacker who is the head coach of the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ohio State, where he earned co ...

Personal life

During his illness, Udeze decided to return to USC, where he resumed taking classes. In May 2010, Udeze graduated with a degree in

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation and ...

.The Graduates
USC Trojans, May 12, 2010, Accessed May 15, 2010.Judd Zulgad

, ''Star Tribune'', March 13, 2010, Accessed May 15, 2010.

References

External links

Tennessee Titans profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Udeze, Kenechi 1983 births Living people All-American college football players American football defensive ends Minnesota Vikings players Coaches of American football from California American sportspeople of Nigerian descent USC Trojans football players Washington Huskies football coaches Players of American football from Los Angeles Verbum Dei High School alumni Sports coaches from Los Angeles Ed Block Courage Award recipients