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The first time kickoff returner Kene Nwangwu touched the ball for the Vikings as a rookie, he wiggled his way through traffic to set his team up with good field position. Though his explosiveness was evident on that play alone, the next time Nwangwu touched the ball, he proved just how dynamic he can be.

After fielding a kickoff from Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker last season, Nwangwu burst through a seam up the right side, and scampered 98 yards for the touchdown. He added another kickoff return for a touchdown a few weeks later in a game against the San Francisco 49ers.

Naturally, as Nwangwu’s star has started to rise, his opportunities as a kickoff returner have started to fall. It’s not uncommon for opposing teams to boom the ball out of the end zone so Nwangwu has no chance of touching it.

In that sense, Vikings special-teams coordinator Matt Daniels admitted he was pretty surprised last weekend when the Green Bay Packers allowed Nwangwu to get his hands on the opening kickoff. He returned it 25 yards, then never touched the ball again.

“It’s important for us from a (kickoff return) standpoint to find a way to make them pay for that,” Daniels said. “Just considering the electric ability that he does have to be able to impact the football game, I expect (the Philadelphia Eagles) to try to pound it out of the end zone.”

In that same breath, Daniels fired a warning shot ahead of Monday’s game at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, adding, “Whenever they do give us the opportunity to return it, that ball is going to come out of the end zone.”

That’s music to Nwangwu’s ears. He takes a lot of pride in being the kickoff returner for the Vikings, and has steadily worked to perfect his craft.

“You’ve just got to be aggressive,” he said. “The most important thing for me is setting up the blocks. It’s like 10 people blocking for me back there. If I can’t help them set up their blocks, then I’m hurting the whole group.”

He has gotten better at that as time has progressed. As a freshman at Iowa State, for example, Nwangwu was most concerned with securing the ball. That was his No. 1 priority.

“Then I started focusing on reads and setting up blocks,” Nwangwu said. “It’s a little different in the NFL. There’s definitely better athletes up here. It’s the same premise, though, so I just have to set up the blocks and hit it.”

Asked about the fearlessness needed to be a kickoff returner, Nwangwu replied, “My first time doing it back in college, the eyes were open.”

Nowadays, Nwangwu has managed to flip the feeling. He’s not fearful when he’s back there. He’s the person instilling fear in the opposing team.

“You gain confidence from doing it over and over,” Nwangwu said. “It becomes second nature.”

This story was written by one of our partner news agencies. Forum Communications Company uses content from agencies such as Reuters, Kaiser Health News, Tribune News Service and others to provide a wider range of news to our readers. Learn more about the news services FCC uses here.