Football adds Rice graduate running back Emmanuel Esukpa

PROVO, Utah – BYU football head coach Kalani Sitake today announced the addition of running back Emmanuel Esukpa to the program.

Esukpa, a 5-foot-11, 232-pound graduate transfer from Rice University, will be eligible for the 2019 season and have one year to play with the Cougars as a redshirt senior.

“We are excited to have Emmanuel come to BYU,” Sitake said. “He has good size, speed and experience and is a great fit as a person and a player for our program. He knows Coach Steward well from their time together at Rice, and he really wants to be here. We’re looking forward to welcoming Emmanuel to our team.”

A product of Grand Prairie, Texas, Esukpa will be reuniting with second-year BYU running backs coach AJ Steward, who recruited him out of Mansfield High School before coaching him for three seasons at Rice from 2015-17. A big back who can run, Esukpa posted a 10.8 split in the 4x100-meter relay in high school where he was a two-sport athlete. 

Esukpa played in 29 games for the Owls, totaling 196 carries, 778 yards and six touchdowns. His single-game career high was 173 yards. Last season, Esukpa had 122 rushes, 461 yards and three scores. In 2017 under Steward, Esukpa played in 10 games in the running back rotation, averaging 4.6 yards per carry with 57 carries, 261 yards and one touchdown.

Esukpa is scheduled to graduate from Rice this spring with a bachelor’s degree in sport management.