Adimchinobe Echemandu

He played football at Hawthorne High School in Hawthorne, California. He ran for 608 yards and 6 touchdowns as a junior, and in track, he had a best of 21.35 in the 200 meters, 10.40 in the 100 meters, and 47.55 in the 400. As a senior, he ran for 1,525 yards on 165 carries sporting a 9.2 average and 27 touchdowns. He also returned two kickoffs for touchdowns, and was named his conference's back of the year in 1998. As a defensive player, he had 42 tackles and an interception as a senior. He was also a member of the Super Prep All-Far West team as the No. 60 overall prospect and the Prep Star All-America team as the No. 10 running back prospect in the West.

A member of an Ibo family from Nigeria, he played for a time under the simplified name Joe Echema until deciding to revert to his Ibo name.[1] Echemandu returned to the gridiron with a flourish in 2003 after spending the previous two years on the sidelines partially due to a knee injury. He saw his banner final campaign end on a sour note after it was discovered that he fractured his fibula late in the year. A two-sport star, he also excelled in track for the Golden Bears. He was a versatile athlete who was recruited as a tailback, but moved to wide receiver midway through his freshman season when injuries depleted their unit, then shifted back to tailback the following year. He sat out the 2002 season to recover from a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, and finished his career with 306 carries for 1,434 yards and 16 touchdowns. As well as 33 receptions for 264 yards and a pair of scores, 22 kickoff returns for 5,016 yards and two punt returns for 5 yards while starting 19 of 33 games.

Echemandu received his master's degree in Education in May, 2017 at the University of California, Berkeley. He is the son of Charity and Joe Echema Sr., as well as the cousin of former California and former Oakland Raiders cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha.