Joshua Uche (born September 18, 1998) is an
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...
linebacker
Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...
for the
New England Patriots of the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL). He played
college football at
Michigan
Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...
.
Early years
Uche was born in 1998, the son of
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
n immigrants, and grew up in
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
, Florida.
[ He attended Christopher Columbus High School in Miami.]
College career
Uche attended the University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
on a football scholarship. As a freshman in 2016, Uche tore his meniscus, caught a "bad virus" and appeared in only four games. As a sophomore in 2017, he sustained a stress fracture and saw limited action in 10 games.[ After the 2017 season, Uche was frustrated with his lack of playing time. He recalled: "I just felt like I was useless at the time. It was just frustrating to me because I wanted to be out there with my teammates, helping, contributing and doing something to just help the team win. When I wouldn't be able to do that, I just questioned if this was the right fit for me."][ Uche met with defensive coordinator Don Brown to express his frustration and ask for more playing time in 2018.][ Brown replied: "Well go earn it, how about that? How about go earn it?"
As a junior in 2018, Uche appeared in 12 games at linebacker.][ He had eight tackles for loss and led the team with seven sacks. In November 2018, the ''Detroit Free Press'' described him as "the most surprising player on the nation's top-ranked defense."] Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh described Uche as "highly determined and motivated. He's a really special player as well."[ At the end of the 2018 season, he received honorable mention from both the coaches and media on the ]2018 All-Big Ten Conference football team
The 2018 All-Big Ten Conference football team consists of American football players chosen as All-Big Ten Conference players for the 2018 Big Ten Conference football season. The conference recognizes two official All-Big Ten selectors: (1) the Big ...
.[
During the 2019 season, Uche recorded a career-high 34 tackles, including 23 solo stops. His 11.5 tackles for loss were second-most on the team, while his 8.5 sacks led the team. Uche's 8.5 sacks was tied for 14th most in a single season in Michigan program history. Following the season, Uche was named to the 2019 All-Big Ten defensive second-team by the coaches. It was announced that Uche would forgo his final year of eligibility and declare for the 2020 NFL Draft. His final amateur game was the ]2020 Senior Bowl
The 2020 Senior Bowl was an all-star college football exhibition game played on January 25, 2020, at 1:30 p.m. CST, at Ladd–Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Alabama. The game featured prospects for the 2020 draft of the professional National Fo ...
.
Professional career
Uche was selected with the 60th pick in the 2020 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots. Uche was the second (of three) Michigan linebackers the Patriots drafted in consecutive years, following Chase Winovich
Chase Winovich () (born April 19, 1995) is an American football defensive end for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Michigan. As a junior, he was a 2017 first-team (media) and second-team (c ...
and preceding Cameron McGrone
Cameron McGrone (born June 22, 2000) is an American football linebacker for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Michigan and was drafted by the New England Patriots in the fifth round of th ...
. He was placed on injured reserve on September 26, 2020 with a foot injury. He was activated on October 31.
In Week 10 against the Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays it ...
on ''Sunday Night Football'', Uche recorded his first career sack on Lamar Jackson during the 23–17 win. On December 31, 2020, Uche was placed on injured reserve.
Uche entered the 2021 season as a rotational outside linebacker and pass rusher for the Patriots. He was placed on injured reserve on November 17, 2021. He was activated on December 25.
Uche had a breakout year in 2022. Starting off slow, Uche got his first sack of the season in Week 8, then followed it up with a three-sack performance against the Colts in Week 9. In Week 14, had five tackles, three sacks, and three tackles for loss in a 27-13 win over the Cardinals, earning AFC Defensive Player of the Week. He finished the season second on the team with 11.5 sacks, along with 27 tackles and two forced fumbles through 15 games.
References
External links
Michigan Wolverines bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Uche, Josh
1998 births
Living people
American football linebackers
Michigan Wolverines football players
Christopher Columbus High School (Miami-Dade County, Florida) alumni
Players of American football from Miami
American sportspeople of Nigerian descent
New England Patriots players