MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — As a senior at Canyon Del Oro High School, Kayden Luke led the state of Arizona with 2,307 rushing yards and added 29 touchdowns to boot.
Since then, Luke has five carries in two seasons of college football, both of which Luke spent at Arizona.
Last season, Luke did not record a touch while being utilized more as a tight end.
“I went to Arizona as a running back my freshman year and carried the ball a couple times,” Luke said. “Last year, I went to the tight end room there and I played a little tight end, so I blocked a lot more. Now I get to bounce around from the running back room to tight end room, so I guess I’ve kind of seen it all, but football is football at the end of the day.”
A junior fullback, Luke transferred from Arizona to West Virginia this offseason.
Moving forward, his role is with the Mountaineers remains to be seen, but as one of two WVU players on the Preseason All-Big 12 Team, it’s safe to assume Luke will at the very least have a relevant one.
“That’s exactly what I wanted. Make a difference, come and play,” Luke said. “Come and hit some people, hopefully.”
At 5-foot-11 and 250 pounds, Luke has the stature and mindset to be a physical menace in an era where fullbacks are few and far between.
“I grew up playing running back, and I guess I was a little too short and a little too slow to play running back in college,” he said. “They were like, we like the way you play and you play with your head and your hands, so I guess you can block if you can run the ball, too. I guess I just kind of fell into the position.”
Luke has developed an admiration for fullbacks from a different era of football, including one in Owen Schmitt who starred two decades ago at West Virginia under Rich Rodriguez — the same head coach Luke will play for in 2026.
“Just try and play with my own style, my own swagger, whatever you call it,” Luke said. “Trying to make plays whenever I can. Every time I get the ball, I try and put somebody on their back. It’s not easy. In this day and age, everybody is bigger, faster, stronger. You kind of just take a piece of people’s game, like Mike Alstott, Owen Schmitt, some of these older fullbacks, and try and put it in your own style of play.”
The selflessness that comes with Luke’s position is something he has grown to relish, as has being able to make an impact without needing touches.
That’s far different than Luke’s role throughout high school, when he accumulated 3,609 rushing yards and 52 touchdowns on 451 carries.
“I think my whole life, I’ve had to take the hard route with everything and I’ve had to learn the hard way,” Luke said. “That’s just another lesson from God — go out there and take whatever you can get and made the most of it.”
Perhaps Luke’s toughest transition at West Virginia is acclimating to the uptempo system Rodriguez has long utilized.
The head coach strives for the Mountaineers to play faster than any other team in the country, something Luke is continuing to adjust to.
“It’s definitely different. I’ve never played in this kind of a tempo offense,” Luke said. “We’re snapping the ball every 20 seconds or something crazy like that, but I try and fit in where I can get in. That’s whether I’m playing running back or they switch to 20 personnel, 12 or 21. I kind of just do whatever they tell me to do, I guess.”