Offensive lineman Olisaemeka Udoh may be a newcomer to the New Orleans Saints offense, but he brings with him an unmatched familiarity with several of the Saints offseason coaching additions.
Udoh joins the Saints after spending five seasons as a member of the Minnesota Vikings, playing in 43 regular season games with 18 starts at right guard and left tackle and started one postseason game at right tackle.
Udoh worked with several new members of the Saints offensive staff previously including offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, senior offensive assistant Rick Dennison, offensive line coach John Benton and quarterbacks coach Andrew Jonocko.
"Just to be able to start somewhere fresh and kind of already have a feel for what's going to go on, especially on the offensive side of the ball, is exciting," Udoh said on the New Orleans Saints Podcast earlier in the offseason.
While with the Vikings, Udoh played under Kubiak, Dennison and Janocko with all three coaching for the team in various positions from 2019 to 2021. Udoh gave Saints fans a preview of what Kubiak is like.
"Offensively scheme-wise, he's just straight for being on track and getting great runs and good pass to kind of marriage what's going on with the run game," Udoh said. "But really just all about all aspects of a West Coast offense and running the ball, good pass, good play-action, that kind of deal."
In 2021 under Kubiak, Udoh played in all 17 games including 16 starts at right guard. The 6-foot-6, 320-pound lineman played 1,076 offensive snaps that year (94% of the Vikings offensive snaps) and only allowed one sack, according to Pro Football Focus.
Udoh had praise for Dennison as well and said he's an "awesome coach."
"He'll make sure everyone knows that they're on the same page when it comes to scheme and what's going on that week and the game plan and just being on top of that kind of thing," Udoh said. "He's really good with that and just keeping everyone kind of accountable for knowing what you got to know in order to perform on Sundays."
Udoh's experience with Jonocko and Benton started before the Vikings drafted him in the sixth round, 193rd overall, in the 2019 NFL Draft out of Elon University. Janocko coached Udoh while he worked as the offensive coordinator for the East team in the 2019 East-West Shrine Game. Benton would coach him during the 2019 Reese's Senior Bowl.
While playing at Elon, the Fayetteville, N.C., native started 45 consecutive games from 2015-18. Going from Elon, which plays in the Colonial Athletic Association in the FCS, to playing in the NFL was quite a jump for Udoh.
"Prior to playing in the NFL, starting NFL games, the largest crowd I had played in front of was like maybe 17,000, 18,000 to where it's like three, four times that in the NFL. just being able to kind of just see how much that jump in play impacts the culture of the area around you is pretty awesome to see, I will say," Udoh said.
Udoh's parents immigrated from Nigeria with his dad working as a doctor and his mom working as a nurse.
"Honestly, incredibly proud that they both made it here as legal U.S. citizens and did it the right way and just kind of grinding to do what they had to do to be where they were at, being that my dad went to medical school here, and in a time when it was probably hard for someone like him to do all that, and my mom became a registered nurse and all that stuff," Udoh said. "So just super proud of what they've done and been able to accomplish."
Their career path, as well as Udoh's season-ending quadriceps injury this past season, helped inspire the path the exercise science major wishes to pursue once his football career ends.
"I think more realistically, especially coming off this injury, just getting a closer sense for what an athletic trainers do," Udoh said. "So, something in that aspect where you're helping athletes kind of who aren't at 100% get back to being on the field and being the best, something along those lines would be sick."
Udoh's siblings also pursued athletics with his sister Ona Udoh playing basketball for Wake Forest and his younger brother Ezemdi Udoh playing football for North Carolina State. Udoh said his older brother Chiagozie Udoh walked on at Bowling Green University before deciding not to continue playing.
Udoh said watching football growing up was what made him wish to pursue it despite his family's reluctance for him to play the sport.
"I grew up watching Ben Roethlisberger and I was like this dude's as big as I am," Udoh said. "So, maybe I could be a quarterback, but I can't throw for anything."
He played defensive line his junior year in high school before switching to the offensive line for his senior season.
Udoh will look to find his role on the Saints offensive line and Coach Dennis Allen said he could compete for the starting left guard spot. Udoh expressed his excitement to join the offensive line room.
"Just looking across the board, just seeing a whole bunch of good athletes, good offensive linemen, just ready to compete and play and see how we do this year to be honest with you," Udoh said.
