About Rice
Owlinfo
Owlopinion
Ye Old
College Inn

The Odyssey of C.J. Ugokwe
With 100-yard-plus rushing game against Tulane,
the junior from Plano finally comes into his own
x
By Mark Anderson

C. J. Ugokwe:  'This year has been completely different because I'm completely healthy for the first time this season'  (PTH photo)

HOUSTON (Oct. 28) -- The dictionary defines the word odyssey as, "a long, wandering, and eventful journey." Perhaps no player among the Feathered Flock can lay claim to an odyssey of a career at Rice more than running back C. J. Ugokwe.

The 5-11, 215-pound junior from Plano achieved a personal best Saturday with 111 key rushing yards in Rice's 42-17 victory over Tulane -- the first 100-yard-plus game of his career.

C.J. came to Rice in the recruiting class of 2005. He was recruited from Plano East High School by then-coach Ken Hatfield and his staff. His freshman year, he watched as Quinton Smith seized control of the running back position while C.J. wore a redshirt.

This is where C.J's odyssey took its first turn. Ken Hatfield resigned as head coach of Rice in November of 2005, and on New Year's Day, as new coach Todd Graham was named to replace Hatfield.

During the Blue-Gray Spring game of 2006, the Rice faithful got their first real look at C.J. That night, C.J. showed the Rice faithful who ventured out to the old track stadium what he could do with a football in his hand, rushing for over 100 yards including   a long TD run up the sideline.

Most people have forgotten all about that game. C.J. hasn't.

"They didn't want Q starting," C.J. recalled. "Q was the starting running back, and we all knew that, so I got a lot of reps during that game and had a very successful night, being able to make some cuts upfield and got some yardage."

C. J. labored under the shadow of Q.

Then C.J. faded into obscurity again as Quinton Smith rushed for over 1,000 yards in 2006. C.J. had only 16 on six carries. The 2006 season ended with Rice's playing in the New Orleans Bowl.

With that, everything seemed to be great on the outside, but not for C. J. Ugokwe. While it's hard to tell who left first, Todd Graham or C. J. Ugokwe. The fact is both were gone by mid-January of 2007. We asked C.J. about that time in his life. "It was a different air, a different time back then under the previous coach" he said. After David Bailiff was hired, his teammates and Coach Bailiff persuaded Ugokwe to come back. C.J. did return to the football team.

Like many of his teammates, however, C.J. was not so quick to buy into the new coach. That has changed, however. "I'm definitely glad I'm here, Ugokwe insisted. "Coach Bailiff has been a great coach, and the team has just been uplifted by his presence."

Coming into the fall of 2007, Ugokwe was expected to be the running back to replace Quinton Smith for the Owls. His first start netted him 64 yards. After gaining 33 against Baylor, it seemed that C.J. finally was getting untracked, as he scored on a seven yard run where nobody touched him.

But after that game, C.J. met the injury bug that plagued Rice last season. While he was able to play, he simply was not as effective. "I got hurt against Texas Tech," Ugokwe said, "and sat out a few weeks. We didn't know the full extent of the injury, [and] how bad it was." C. J. came back after missing three games, "but it [the knee] didn't feel the same at all. But I just had to come out there and play," the Plano junior said.

Big reason for upturn:  finally C.J.'s healthy

The 2008 season has been an eventful one for C.J. Ugokwe. He came into this season completely healthy, which he says is a big change. "This year has been completely different because I'm completely healthy for the first time this season," C.J. said yesterday. "I can make cuts on the grass and move laterally upfield. It's a huge change from last year to this year."

While Ugokwe's 100-plus yard game in the Spring Game of 2006 may have been forgotten, his effort in the Big Easy won't be. "We knew the defense was going to be a tough defense," Ugokwe said Monday. "Coach [Bailiff] kept preaching to us that the had the toughest defense in the conference, so we had to come out and be physical." During Monday's press conference,

Ugokwe credited the offensive line with opening some holes and giving him the opportunity to exploit them.

Ugokwe's teammates have noticed how he is beginning to step up in games. Starting quarterback Chase Clement said of C.J. on Monday, "Really, this is his second week in a row to have a good game for us. Last week against Southern Miss, he had a great week running the ball."

Clement didn't stop there, though, in his compliments regarding Ugoke. "He's continuing to get better and better," Chase said of Ugokwe. "I think he's a complete back. He can do a lot of good things for us."

The odyssey of C.J. Ugokwe and the Rice Owls continues Saturday night in El Paso against the UTEP Miners. When asked what will be needed to be successful on the Rio Grande, C.J. told us, "The stadium is always packed, and they are going to be rowdy. We've been there before.  We've been able to win and be successful so we just want to go and do that again, and notch another win under our belts."

There is one reason to believe that C.J. might finally be fulfilling that potential flashed during that Spring Game of 2006 his confidence. C.J. is by no means cocky. But he made no bones about what the win against Tulane and his performance have done for him mentally. "It actually felt great to rush for that many yards against the toughest defense in the conference," he told us.

"That gave me a little bit more confidence in the next few games coming up."

RiceOwls.com   |  Chronicle football  |  Rice fan forum  |  CUSA fan forum    |   Owldigest.com
Front Page    |   E-mail us    |   Boilerplate/viewing tips    |  Quicklinks