Abu Sama III

Photo by: Jeff Spaur

Photo by: Jeff Spaur

Photo by: Jeff Spaur

Position:
Running Back
Height:
5-11
Weight:
200
Class:
Freshman
Hometown:
Des Moines, Iowa
High School:
Southeast Polk

Awards & Honors
True Freshman All-America Team - 247sports (2023)
Big 12 Offensive Player and Newcomer of the Week (Nov. 27, 2023)
Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll (F24, S25)

2024
Played in 14 games, making six starts ... second on team with 124 rush attempts and 587 yards ... tallied two rushing touchdowns ... had eight receptions for 58 yards ... recorded one 100-yard game, rushing for 101 yards on 11 carries at Houston ... had a 77-yard TD run against the Cougars, the longest play from scrimmage for the Cyclones in 2024 ... rushed 12 times for 52 yards, including a 27-yard TD run, against Cincinnati ... rushed 15 times for 81 yards against Kansas State ... had a season-high 17 carries for 58 yards against Iowa ... had first career multi-catch game with two receptions for 34 yards against UCF ... also had 10 carries for 55 yards against the Knights.

2023
Played in 12 games, starting the final two games of the season ... rushed for 614 yards, the third-most by a freshman in school history ... scored six touchdowns on the ground, tied for the third-most in program history ... averaged 7.3 yards per carry, breaking the previous school record for a single season ... also had seven catches for 51 yards ... earned Big 12 Offensive Player and Newcomer of the Week after a legendary performance in the snow at Kansas State ... against the Wildcats in his first career start, rushed for 276 yards, the fourth-most in a game, most in a road game and most-ever by a freshman in school history ... logged runs of 77, 71 and 60 yards in the game, making him the second FBS player since 1996 with three or more rushing touchdowns of 60-plus yards against a ranked opponent ... first Big 12 player to have two 70-plus yard rushing touchdowns in a game since Adrian Peterson (Oklahoma) in 2005 and the first player in school history (dating back to 1971) with three rushing TDs of 50 yards or more in a single game ... tallied first career 100-yard performance against BYU, running for 110 yards and two touchdowns ... recorded five 50-yard touchdowns, the most in a single season at ISU dating back to 1971 ... first career rushing touchdown was a 55-yard scamper against TCU.

High School
Prepped at Southeast Polk High School for head coach Brad Zelenovich … 2022 Iowa Gatorade Player of the Year ... helped Southeast Polk to 2021 and 2022 state titles … tallied 372 rushing yards and six touchdowns in the 2022 state championship game, both state title game records … tabbed as a three-star prospect by all the major recruiting outlets … rated as the No. 5 Iowa prospect by 247Sports … Des Moines Register Player of the Year … selected to play in the 2022 US Army Bowl … named first-team IPWSA All-State, Des Moines Register’s All-Iowa Elite Team and the Register’s class 5A All-State Team … rushed for 1,408 yards and 28 touchdowns, averaging 10.1 yards per touch, as a senior … had 20 solo tackles and also rushed for 931 yards and 12 touchdowns as a junior … also broke the state long-jump record, which had stood since 1984, with a leap of 24-10 … won the state title in the long jump in 2021 and 2022 … picked the Cyclones over offers from Kansas State among others.

Personal
Brother, Amara, ran track at Iowa State from 2009-2011 ... brothers Gerald (Grand View) and Abu Sama Jr. (Iowa Western) both played football ... majoring in liberal studies.