Army freshman Godspower Nwawuihe dazzles on way to offensive MVP award at the Fenway Bowl.
His name means supreme strength and ability, and Godspower Nwawuihe may be exactly what the run-dominant Army football team needs for its future.
Nwawuihe was recruited as a quarterback out of Texas and spent a year at the U.S. Military Academy Prep School. Though passing for more than 3,000 yards in high school, Nwawuihe joined the Army varsity this season and found himself deep down on the QB depth chart. But it became clear to the coaches that his physical attributes could not be ignored.
With the December 2024 transfer of 1,177-yard running back Kanye Udoh to Arizona State, Army was in search of another back all season long, with injuries and inconsistent play hurting the team's top priority in its offense. The coaches decided to use Nwawuihe in the backfield, and he debuted in November to mixed reviews. In a trio of outings against Air Force, Tulsa and Texas San Antonio, he amassed nine carries for 25 yards, and he did not play in the regular-season finale against Navy.
But there was Nwawuihe, green as the backdrop of Fenway Park's famed walls, joining the offense on Army's second series against Connecticut in Saturday's Fenway Bowl. Fast and upright, Nwawuihe surged through the line on his first carry for 9 yards, a nice start on a cold afternoon.
Minutes before halftime, Nwawuihe took a handoff from quarterback Cale Hellums and broke loose for a 43-yard touchdown, a score that ultimately put Army on top for good in a 41-16 victory. It was the first touchdown by an Army freshman since Udoh against Delaware State in Sept. 2023.
He apparently didn't lose a step during the break because on the second snap of the third quarter he posted perhaps Army's best rushing score of the season. He took a handoff up the middle and shed three UConn defenders before making a break toward the left sideline. Already 30 yards downfield, he worked free of another defender and continued down the sideline for a 70-yard touchdown, establishing a Fenway Bowl record and tying Army's bowl record set by Tyler Campbell in the 2016 Heart of Dallas Bowl.
Army football: Godspower named MVP
By game's end, Nwawuihe had 171 yards on 12 carries and was named the bowl's offensive MVP — he's the first Army freshman to rush for 100 yards and two scores in a game since at least 1995. He said the coaches put him in good positions to succeed, and he trusted his blockers. Also from the fullback room were Jake Rendina with 14 carries for 87 yards and Carson Smith had nine for 49, with one score. Army's 368 yards rushing was its second-best output of 2025 and the five rushing scores was the high-water mark after meeting that standard six times in 2024.
Speaking of Nwawuihe, head coach Jeff Monken said: "This guy's a freshman and he's just developed over the course of the year. He's had a few carries, and got his opportunity tonight. I think (it was) just the culmination of all that work that he put in over the course of the year, and now we get a chance to kind of see the future of the program with the performance that he had.''
Slotback Noah Short (98 carries, 571 yards, 1 TD this season) and Hayden Reed (74-340, 3 TD) will be graduating, opening the door for the likes of rising sophomores Nwawuihe (21-196, 2 TD) and Briggs Bartosh (44-255, 1 TD) and rising seniors Smith (55-233, 2 TD) and Rendina (40-189, 1 TD). And with his past proficiency at quarterback, Nwawuihe's return to that position in the future, or making use of him in halfback options, should not be ruled out, making him a dynamic threat.
"He's going to be a really good player for this team a year from now,'' said senior linebacker and co-captain Kalib Fortner.
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This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Army freshman Nwawuihe has impressive Fenway Bowl outing
Category: General Sports
