A player with impressive physical tools ... a tough runner who possesses good speed and lateral quickness ... can be effective in the passing game, as well ... has gained more than 25 pounds since arriving at Cal without any loss in speed ... a slasher with strong legs who can break tackles ... also an adept kick returner who ranked third in the Pac-10 last year with an average of 23.5 ypg ... sprinted on the Cal track team as a freshman in 2000, with bests of 10.93 in the 100 meters and 21.97 in the 200 ... has the possibility of redshirting this season, if he and the coaches elect to go that route ... 2000 ... finished the season third on the team in rushing with 215 yards on 58 carries ... led the Bears at Fresno State with 72 yards on 14 rushes ... had a career-long 18-yard carry at Fresno State ... also had 72 yards (career-high 18 carries) the next week vs. Washington State ... began returning kicks for the Bears against Washington State, finishing that game with 3 returns for 90 yards, including a 53-yarder ... also had a 39-yard KO return at Washington and a 47-yarder vs. Stanford ... with four touchdowns on the year (3 rush, 1 rec), finished third on the team in scoring with 24 points ... 1999 ... saw a significant amount of action as a true freshman ... played tailback early in the season and then moved to wide receiver to fill a hole caused by injuries ... had four carries for nine yards at Nebraska ... moved to WR prior to the Washington State game ... caught a 27-yard TD pass at UCLA for Cal's first score and ended that game as the team's leading receiver with 4 catches for 44 yards ... had a career long 13-yard run vs. Washington, finishing the day with 3 carries for 17 yards ... ended the season with 10 carries for 24 yards and 4 receptions for 44 yards.

High School/Personal: Ran for 1,525 yards on 165 carries for a 9.2 yards average and 27 TDs at Hawthorne HS ... also returned a pair of kickoffs for TDs and caught 2 TD passes ... was his conference's Back of the Year in 1998 ... also was a standout defensive player who had 42 tackles and an interception as a senior ... a member of the SuperPrep All-Far West team as the No. 60 overall prospect ... a member of the PrepStar All-America team as the No. 10 running back prospect in the West ... in track, had a best of 21.57 in the 200 meters and 48.65 in the 400 as a junior ... ran for 608 yards and 6 TDs as a junior ... also caught 7 passes for 172 yards and 2 TDs ... chose Cal after receiving offers from Wisconsin and Arizona ... also drew interest from UCLA and Nebraska ... a native of Nigeria ... full name is Adimchinobe Echemandu ... cousin of Cal teammate Nnamdi Asomugha ... parents are Joe (teacher) and Charity Echema ... born Nov. 21, 1980 in Lagos, Nigeria.

Echema's Career Statistics

Joseph Echema Class: Junior Hometown: Hawthorne High School: Hawthorne Height / Weight: 5-11 / 215 Position: TB Birthdate: 11/21/1980 Experience: 2V