The Return of Kenechi Udeze

The warm-natured Wednesday afternoon served as a culmination for USC gridiron stars just moments away from engraving one final impression on the minds of NFL personnel in attendance, a virtual who’s who on the professional level.

Among the hundreds of starry eyed spectators stood a man grand in stature, bearing an ear to ear smile and a renewed vibrancy.  A vibrancy directed toward his football career, toward the illness he had been battling so bravely and toward the subtleties of life in general.

Just eighteen months removed from the chemotherapy aimed to purify his body of the leukemia that he had been carrying, the man referred to as “BKU” (Big Kenechi Udeze) seems well.

“Everything’s been going good,” Udeze said following the USC Pro Day.  “I’ve been gauging myself and working out with a couple of fellas here at USC, pretty much just seeing where I’m at.

“The biggest thing when I first came back and started working out was the neuropathy in my feet from the chemo.  That’s slowly working it’s way out of my body and I feel like an athlete all over again.”

While donning the cardinal and gold of a USC Trojan, Udeze accomplished incredible feats on the gridiron.  More recently, however, the Los Angeles (CA.) Verbum Dei alumni has directed his accomplishments toward increasing awareness to the life threatening disease he came face to face with.

While recovery, Udeze was given the opportunity to evaluate exactly what is important to him in life.  Prior to his diagnosis, “BKU” admits that his main priority could be discovered on the football field.

“Through everything I’ve really learned a lot,” said Udeze of the recovery process.  “I’ve realized that there’s much more to me than just football.  If anything, I can spend more time with the Vulmar Registry.  People right now are going through a tough time because they can’t find a match.  It’s as simple as getting a cotton swab and rubbing it in your mouth and being a part of the registry.  

“There are many things that I am trying to take on, football is really important to me right now and it’s really kind of swayed back and forth over these past couple of months.  For the most part I’m ready, I’ll be back next year and I’m looking forward to stepping back on the field.”

As the 6’4, 280lbs lineman began to trip back through his past, he can recall down to the most minute detail the entire day, a day which changed the landscape of his life forever.

For what he thought to be a common cold, Udeze was blindsided by the news, news that never in his wildest dreams could he have seen come to fruition.  Staying true to the “Fight on” mantra so commonly thrown around at USC, Udeze made the choice to battle some unfavorable odds.

“Nothing can prepare you for it,” admitted Udeze of his time spent away from the gridiron.  “I feel like yesterday I walked into the hospital and they told me my white blood cell count was at an astronomical level.  I didn’t understand what it meant, I didn’t know what it meant literally.

“They began to tell me and I was fairly ignorant to it, and now I feel so much more comfortable and better about it because with everything that happened I accept it.  I accept it, I swallow it, but in the same sense I don’t accept it.  I feel like my mentality and my mindset helped me triumph it, whether it be playing football or being an inspiration to someone, I’m ready to do that and enjoy the life I have left.”

This is not the first obstacle he has had to overcome.  From his upbringing as a child in Los Angeles to football stardom, “BKU” truly understands the meaning of rising up and smiling in the face of adversity.

A return to the gridiron was never an issue in his mind.  His confidence and mindset would not allow him to sit back and feel sorry for himself or go back and forth on the “what ifs,” all Udeze had could do was prove his naysayers wrong.

“Always, always,” Udeze responded when asked if he always had such a heightened level of confidence that he would indeed return to the gridiron.  “I would still say I have a bad cold and I’ll be back, there no need to worry about me because anybody who knows me knows what I’ve come from just to step on the field here at USC.  They’ll know that this is just temporary and I’ll be back.

“I’m very optimistic about the season coming up. I know that I can contribute.  I don’t want to be dead weight.  That’s the one thing I’m trying not to be.  If I can’t be where I was before or better than it will be a waste of time.”

The support that flooded in for the Minnesota Viking was overwhelming, from phone calls on a daily basis to hospital visits regularly, Udeze found comfort in his extended family.  

“Everything’s going good,” said Udeze of the Vikings.  “I can only begin to tell you the kind of support and love that has come from not only the organization and the coaches and the players but the media and everybody at Minnesota has literally been there for me and never once did I feel a sense of abandonment or anything like that.  Coach (Brad) Childress bringing me Chipotle at the hospital, and everybody just chipping in still letting me know that I’m a part of the team and everything is going to be alright.”

No matter what the outcome, Udeze has and will continue to be an important member of a Trojan legacy.