Minnesota Vikings Defensive End
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Businesses, Non-profit organizations, event planners and companies across the country have worked closely with our booking agents to hire Kenechi Udeze for a speaking engagements, guest appearances, product endorsements and corporate events. Many of those same clients have continued to turn to our speakers bureau as we can easily align Kenechi Udeze’s availability with their upcoming seminar, gala, annual conference, corporate function, and grand opening. Our close relationship with Kenechi Udeze’s booking agent and management team further enables us to provide inquiring clients with Kenechi Udeze’s speaking fee and appearance cost.
If your goal is to hire Kenechi Udeze to be your next keynote speaker or to be the next brand ambassador our celebrity speakers bureau can assist. If Kenechi Udeze’s booking fee is outside your companies budget or your unable to align with his appearance availability, our booking agents can provide you a list of talent that aligns with your event theme, budget and event date.
Kenechi Udeze is a former American college and professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for four seasons during the early 2000s. He played college football for the University of Southern California (USC), and earned consensus All-American honors. The Minnesota Vikings picked Udeze in the first round of the 2004 NFL Draft, but was forced to retire in 2008 after he was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. He is currently an assistant strength and conditioning coach at the University of Southern California.
While attending the University of Southern California, Udeze played for coach Pete Carroll's USC Trojans football team from 2001 to 2003. He was a three-year starter and helped his team to a 2004 Rose Bowl victory as a junior. He finished his college career with 135 tackles (51 of them for a loss), 28 sacks (a school record), 14 forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, one interception, five pass deflections, and two blocked kicks. As a junior in 2003, he was a first-team All-Pac-10 selection, and was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American.
Udeze was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the first round (20th overall pick) of the 2004 NFL Draft. During his rookie season with the Vikings, he started 15 games and recorded 36 tackles, five sacks, one forced fumble, and one pass deflected. After an injury-plagued 2005 season, he was once again the starter at left defensive end in 2006, playing 16 games, starting 15 and recorded 29 tackles and no sacks. The following year he again playing in all 16 games, with 15 starts, and had 47 tackles and five sacks.
On February 11, 2008, it was announced that Udeze was diagnosed by doctors with a form of leukemia: acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Udeze revealed that his acute leukemia is in a state of remission.
Udeze was able to get back into good enough condition to return to the Vikings for 2009 pre-season training, reaching the physical form he was in before his illness. He took 26 snaps during a Vikings mini-camp but struggled with peripheral neuropathy in his feet, a result of his chemotherapy. The chemotherapy-induced neuropathy caused numbness that kept him from being able to plant firmly and create any burst up the field after the snap. Finding himself unable to move at the level he was used to, Udeze decided to retire and announced his decision on July 29, 2009.
During his illness, Udeze decided to return to USC and take classes to finish his degree. In May 2010, Udeze graduated with a degree in sociology.
Former USC assistant coach Steve Sarkisian, who became head coach of the Washington Huskies, hired Udeze as an assistant strength and conditioning coach, and also working with the defensive line. He also works heavily with charities that help raise money for cancer research.
In 2012, Udeze was hired as a assistant defensive line coach for the Seattle Seahawks. In 2013, Udeze completed the Bill Walsh NFL Minority Coaching Fellowship program with the Minnesota Vikings. In 2014, Udeze was hired as an assistant strength and conditioning coach at the University of Pittsburgh. In 2015, Udeze returned to his alma mater, University of Southern California, to work as an assistant strength and conditioning coach, rejoining former Washington coaches Steve Sarkisian and Ivan Lewis.
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NOPACTalent acts as a Celebrity Speakers Bureau and Athlete Booking agency for corporate functions, appearances, private events and speaking engagements. NOPACTalent does not claim or represent itself as Kenechi Udeze’s speakers bureau, agent, manager or management company for Kenechi Udeze or any celebrity on this website. NOPACTalent represents organizations seeking to hire motivational speakers, athletes, celebrities and entertainers for private corporate events, celebrity endorsements, personal appearances, and speaking engagements.
