Arguably the biggest hole the Sun Devils were looking to fill this year in the transfer portal came at running back, as superstar runner Cam Skattebo is moving on to the NFL. And on Saturday, they may have just filled that hole, as Kanye Udoh has committed to Arizona State.
Home 🔱 https://t.co/ZVg6A83k9e
— Kanye Udoh 🚀 (@KanyeUdoh6) December 21, 2024
Udoh comes to Tempe after two seasons playing for Army. While it's unusual for players to transfer out of the military academies, Udoh took advantage of a rule that allows students to opt out after two years.
Udoh became a hot commodity once he entered the portal, and rightfully so. As a true freshman, Udoh racked up 524 rushing yards on just 99 carries, averaging an impressive 5.3 yards per carry. This year, he did even better, averaging 6.2 yards a clip. Among running backs with remaining eligibility past this season, Udoh's 1,111 rushing yards rank 7th in the FBS.
Listed at an even 6 feet and 215 pounds, Udoh has a similar running style to the outgoing Skattebo. With the Golden Knights, he played a very narrow role in their triple option offense, which complicates his evaluation. That said, Udoh is a downhill runner who averaged 3.46 yards after contact per attempt. For context, Skattebo was averaging 3.88 at Sacramento State before he exploded with the Sun Devils.
The New Jersey native was only awarded 2 stars coming out of high school. He received six Power 4 offers, including Big 12 foe West Virginia, but opted to go with Army. Now, after an impressive two-year run, he'll join an Arizona State squad that has built their offense around the run game.
Udoh figures to be the odds-on favorite to lead the offense at running back, but it won't be handed to him. Arizona State returns Kyson Brown, who was second among running backs this year in rushing yards, and they have a lot of optimism in both Raleek Brown - who missed most of this season with an injury - and freshman Jason Brown.
Regardless of who ends up the starting running back, Arizona State has just landed one of the top rushers on the market, thereby ensuring they'll have another really talented running back room when the 2025 season kicks off.