By Brad Cox, The Battallion
Photo: Stephen Fogg/The Battallion
Uzoma Nwachukwu is on pace to be the most prolific receiver in Texas A&M history.
It should come as no surprise then that his first name literally means "the road is good."
"It's funny because it's motivating to me," said Nwachukwu, who is a descendent of the Igbo people of Nigeria. "Because I think that God has a plan for me, and that the road is going to be good and everything is going to work out the way it's supposed to."
The 6-foot tall freshman whose last name means "child of God" leads the Aggies with six receiving touchdowns and 445 yards after six games in 2009.
If junior quarterback Jerrod Johnson continues to connect with Nwachukwu at the same rate, the man nicknamed "Eazy" will make sophomore Jeff Fuller's record of nine touchdowns in a single season look easy.
Nwachukwu is on track for 12 single season touchdowns and 48 career touchdowns, and that's not including a rushing touchdown he scored against Utah State on Sept. 19. In that game, Nwachukwu touched the ball four times and scored a touchdown each time.
"He's growing as a player," said A&M Head Coach Mike Sherman. "He still has a long way to go to be the type of route runner and the receiver that I want him to be. He's not a complete receiver just yet but he's working towards it, and I think someday he will be."
In a 62-14 loss at Kansas State this past Saturday, Nwachukwu accounted for all 14 of the Aggies' points on two receptions in the third quarter.
On a team that is struggling at the midpoint of the season, he is doing what his nickname implies and is making it look easy.
"He's a great player and he's put in a lot of work," Johnson said after Nwachukwu's game against Utah State. "He's a young guy so it was exciting to see him get his first shot on Kyle Field. I'm happy for him, and I don't expect anything less from him."
Long before Nwachukwu donned the maroon and white, he had scholarship offers from across the nation from school such as Oklahoma, Notre Dame and Arkansas.
He was a four-star receiver on a state championship team. He could have chosen a school with a better record or a more pass - oriented offense, but he chose Sherman and the Aggies.
"A big part of it had to do with Coach Sherman selling the program to me," Nwachukwu said. "He said he wanted to install passing and he needed the receivers to do it. He sold it real well and everything just felt right coming here."
Sherman wasted no time throwing Eazy into the fire. In his first game, Nwachukwu had three receptions for 53 yards, including a 42-yard reception on A&M's first drive.
"At first, I was getting my juices going, my heart started beating a little bit," he said after the first game. "It was a good experience because of the Twelfth Man. It was amazing to see them twirling their towels around."
Nwachukwu continued to show off his abilities as the season progressed, sometimes looking like he was perfectly in tune with Johnson.
Much has been said in the media about the nature of the relationship between Texas quarterback Colt McCoy and receiver Jordan Shipley.
Though Nwachukwu and Johnson don't fish together or throw the ball to each other from land to boat, Nwachukwu said they might have to find something to do like that.
"Jerrod's a cool guy," he said. "We share a lot of the same interests and things like that. We joke around all the time. We have pretty good chemistry on the field and off the field. He's just a fun guy to play with."
One thing that binds the pair is their musical chops.
Nwachukwu, who likes to spend time with his guitar playing Gavin DeGraw's "Follow Through," said Johnson and freshman running back Christine Michael are two of the best singers on the team.
"They might have to have a sing-off because that is a real close one," he said. "They both can sing pretty good. I haven't tried to get at them or anything like that. We'll see."
Nwachukwu jokingly said he might join up with the pair and release an album. A song at the top of the list could be "Lean on Me," which has become an unofficial anthem for the Aggies.
"I get into that song because that's my song right there," he said. "I love it. I get real in rhythm. I get the guys going with that."
But the football field is never far away, as is his potential future in the NFL.
Sherman said it's too early to tell if Nwachukwu will be an NFL-caliber receiver, but he said Nwachukwu hasn't done anything to make him think he won't be.
Photo: Stephen Fogg/The BattallionUzoma Nwachukwu is on pace to be the most prolific receiver in Texas A&M history.
It should come as no surprise then that his first name literally means "the road is good."
"It's funny because it's motivating to me," said Nwachukwu, who is a descendent of the Igbo people of Nigeria. "Because I think that God has a plan for me, and that the road is going to be good and everything is going to work out the way it's supposed to."
The 6-foot tall freshman whose last name means "child of God" leads the Aggies with six receiving touchdowns and 445 yards after six games in 2009.
If junior quarterback Jerrod Johnson continues to connect with Nwachukwu at the same rate, the man nicknamed "Eazy" will make sophomore Jeff Fuller's record of nine touchdowns in a single season look easy.
Nwachukwu is on track for 12 single season touchdowns and 48 career touchdowns, and that's not including a rushing touchdown he scored against Utah State on Sept. 19. In that game, Nwachukwu touched the ball four times and scored a touchdown each time.
"He's growing as a player," said A&M Head Coach Mike Sherman. "He still has a long way to go to be the type of route runner and the receiver that I want him to be. He's not a complete receiver just yet but he's working towards it, and I think someday he will be."
In a 62-14 loss at Kansas State this past Saturday, Nwachukwu accounted for all 14 of the Aggies' points on two receptions in the third quarter.
On a team that is struggling at the midpoint of the season, he is doing what his nickname implies and is making it look easy.
"He's a great player and he's put in a lot of work," Johnson said after Nwachukwu's game against Utah State. "He's a young guy so it was exciting to see him get his first shot on Kyle Field. I'm happy for him, and I don't expect anything less from him."
Long before Nwachukwu donned the maroon and white, he had scholarship offers from across the nation from school such as Oklahoma, Notre Dame and Arkansas.
He was a four-star receiver on a state championship team. He could have chosen a school with a better record or a more pass - oriented offense, but he chose Sherman and the Aggies.
"A big part of it had to do with Coach Sherman selling the program to me," Nwachukwu said. "He said he wanted to install passing and he needed the receivers to do it. He sold it real well and everything just felt right coming here."
Sherman wasted no time throwing Eazy into the fire. In his first game, Nwachukwu had three receptions for 53 yards, including a 42-yard reception on A&M's first drive.
"At first, I was getting my juices going, my heart started beating a little bit," he said after the first game. "It was a good experience because of the Twelfth Man. It was amazing to see them twirling their towels around."
Nwachukwu continued to show off his abilities as the season progressed, sometimes looking like he was perfectly in tune with Johnson.
Much has been said in the media about the nature of the relationship between Texas quarterback Colt McCoy and receiver Jordan Shipley.
Though Nwachukwu and Johnson don't fish together or throw the ball to each other from land to boat, Nwachukwu said they might have to find something to do like that.
"Jerrod's a cool guy," he said. "We share a lot of the same interests and things like that. We joke around all the time. We have pretty good chemistry on the field and off the field. He's just a fun guy to play with."
One thing that binds the pair is their musical chops.
Nwachukwu, who likes to spend time with his guitar playing Gavin DeGraw's "Follow Through," said Johnson and freshman running back Christine Michael are two of the best singers on the team.
"They might have to have a sing-off because that is a real close one," he said. "They both can sing pretty good. I haven't tried to get at them or anything like that. We'll see."
Nwachukwu jokingly said he might join up with the pair and release an album. A song at the top of the list could be "Lean on Me," which has become an unofficial anthem for the Aggies.
"I get into that song because that's my song right there," he said. "I love it. I get real in rhythm. I get the guys going with that."
But the football field is never far away, as is his potential future in the NFL.
Sherman said it's too early to tell if Nwachukwu will be an NFL-caliber receiver, but he said Nwachukwu hasn't done anything to make him think he won't be.
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