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."They Couldn't Shake Him and He Wouldn't Go Away", Daily Californian, November 21, 2003. 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.
