Abu Sama III earned a pair of Big 12 awards following his breakout performance against Kansas State. Sama picked up Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week honors and his second Newcomer of the Week honor.
Sama was electric from the first snap against Kansas State. He ran for 276 yards and three touchdowns in the 42-35 win over the Wildcats.
Sama ran in three touchdowns of 60 yards or more. He took the first snap of the game for 71 yards to the house, which gave flashbacks to another elite Cyclone rusher.
Two years before Sama’s opening touchdown, Breece Hall took his opening rush to the end zone. Sama also joined Hall as one of the only Cyclone rushers to have multiple rushes of over 50 yards. Troy Davis is the only other runner besides Hall and Sama to achieve that feat.
Sama was also the first Cyclone rusher to run for over 200 yards and three touchdowns since Hall did it back in 2021 against TCU. Sama also made history along with sitting with the greats.
Sama became the first Cyclone rusher to rush for three touchdowns of 50 yards or more in the same game. Along with that, Sama became the first Big 12 player to run in two touchdowns of over 70 yards since Adrian Peterson did it for Oklahoma in 2005.
Not only that, Sama’s three touchdowns made him the second player since 1996 to rush for three touchdowns of 60 yards or more against a ranked opponent.
Along with the touchdowns, Sama’s 276 rushing yards were the fourth-most in a single game in school history. The 276 yards was also the most in a road game and the most by a freshman.
All the achievements Sama had in his big game against Kansas State made him the choice for Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week. Sama was the first Cyclone of the season to earn the award.
Sama also earned the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week award based on his performance, which was his second, as he earned it in his breakout game against BYU. Sama was the second Cyclone to earn multiple Big 12 weekly awards, as Chase Contreraz earned two Special Teams Player of the Week awards.
With Sama being a true freshman, the Des Moines, Iowa, native should be prepared to take more reps and more honors in the future.
