Liberty has added a commitment at a position of need as linebacker Chike Nwankwo has pledged to the Flames following a weekend visit to Lynchburg. He has one season of eligibility remaining.
The 6’2″, 230 pound Nwankwo began his collegiate career at Rutgers. After redshirting in 2018, he played in eight games for Rutgers in 2019. Nwankwo then transferred to Abilene Christian where he has played in 27 games over the past three seasons. This past year, Nwankwo played in 11 games and finished with 43 tackles and 4 tackles for loss.
Since entering the portal less than two weeks ago, Nwankwo has received numerous offers including his first coming from Liberty less than 24 hours after he entered the portal. His other offers include Louisville, Washington State, Cincinnati, Appalachian State, UTSA, Colorado State, Bowling Green, and others.
In high school, Nwankwo played for Bridgewater-Raritan in New Jersey where he was a three-year letter winner at linebacker and tight end. He totaled 122 tackles, 4.5 sacks, and one interception as a senior while helping his team reach the state championship game a third consecutive season.
Nwankwo will help booster a linebacker unit that lost its two starters from a season ago in Mike Smith, Jr. and Ahmad Walker, who both went into the portal in December. Tyren Dupree, Aakil Washington, and Jerome Jolly, Jr. are other key pieces for the Flames at linebacker entering the 2023 seaosn.
