Xavier Gipson was standing within the MetLife Stadium tunnel earlier than Sunday’s Jets sport towards the Seahawks having a phrase with Kene Nwangwu, who’d simply been elevated off the observe squad to the gameday roster.
“We said on the way out of the tunnel, ‘If not you, then who? If not then, then when?’ ” Gipson, the Jets punt returner, stated. “He never complains, is always in good spirits and always prepares like this is his moment.”
Nwangwu, a fourth-year working again and kick returner signed to the Jets observe squad in September, regarded prepared for his second, all proper.
He was one of many few shiny spots for the Jets of their dispiriting 26-21 loss to Seattle by advantage of his 99-yard kick return for a landing to offer the Jets a 21-7 lead within the first quarter.
Earlier within the first half, Nwangwu stripped Seattle kick returner Dee Williams of the ball, recovered by Brandin Echols. The turnover led on to the Jets’ second landing and a 14-0 lead.
“What an amazing story,” Jets interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich stated of Nwangwu. “Kene was a man for weeks now who we now have been spotlighting and displaying the crew — simply his course of and the way onerous he’s labored. He earned the fitting to play immediately and all that onerous work got here to fruition.
“[The kick return] was a really amazing moment, not just for him but for the team because the team is really invested in that human being.”
Nwangwu has had some success within the NFL, having returned 4 kickoffs for touchdowns and as soon as incomes an All-Professional nomination.
He was drafted within the fourth spherical out of Iowa State in 2021 and spent three years of his NFL profession with the Vikings. In 2021, he led the league with two kickoff return touchdowns and added one other in 2022.
He’s spent the season working as a scout-team participant in practices, giving the protection seems to be. And Sunday was his first game-day second as a Jet.
“I knew on Saturday walkthrough that I was going to be up,” Nwangwu stated. “It’s like riding a bike, making sure I’m prepared if I was going to be up, taking notes, being intentional in practice, taking keys from coaches and all that type of stuff. It was good to see that it translates to game days.”
For a participant who’s performed within the league to take a seat that lengthy on the observe squad confirmed nice endurance on the a part of Nwangwu.
“The difficulty comes from knowing that you made plays in this league before,” he stated. “Yeah, I want to be out there making plays for my teammates, but at the end of the day I know my role right now. When I came to this team, my role is to serve the best look for the defense and make sure if I’m ever called upon, I know what I’m doing.”
He referred to as the “best part” of the kick return “celebrating with your teammates,’’ adding, “You can’t do this game alone. We all made a big play there. It wasn’t just me.”
The disgrace is that such a cool story was buried in one more Jets loss.
