Texas RB commits to Cyclones

Thanks to the lone holdover on Iowa State's football coaching staff, a Texas running back got a second chance to become a Cyclone. And he didn't let it pass him by.

Frisco's Kene Nwangwu committed to ISU Thursday night. The 6-foot-0, 180-pound, three-star running back had officially visited Ames back in mid-November and went from not knowing much about the Iowa State program to putting it at the top of his list. But as rapidly as that occurred, he was left in limbo when Paul Rhoads was fired as the Cyclone head coach about a week later.

Nwangwu stayed top of mind for ISU running backs coach Lou Ayeni through it all and when Ayeni was retained by Matt Campbell, he made sure the new I-State head coach became aware of Nwangwu.

"Coach Campbell told me that Coach Lou showed the new staff my film and they really wanted to get me," Nwangwu said. "It was next night I believe when Coach Campbell called me."

Nwangwu said that Ayeni made a visit to see him in Texas and that solidified things, leading to the Thursday evening commitment.

"I just felt that this school was the perfect fit for me," said Nwangwu.

The future mechanical engineering major was also offered by the likes of Iowa, Indiana and Kansas and he said he remained in contact with the Hawkeye coaching staff primarily throughout the period he was waiting to see where things stood with Iowa State. Nwangwu said he has no additional visits scheduled.

Nwangwu rushed for over 1,000 yards as a senior for Frisco this past fall.