Plainfield North senior Kapri Bibbs made his mark in the Illinois High School Association record book last week after rushing for 520 yards and seven touchdowns in a 49-43 win over Oswego.
Will that performance affect his recruiting?
Bibbs, who gave Colorado State an oral commitment in July, insisted he will keep his word to the Rams.
That won’t stop major programs from pursuing Bibbs, or at least giving him more looks.
Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Pittsburgh and several Mid-American Conference programs are among the schools that have requested tape of Bibbs’ record-setting performance.
“I don’t care who he gained 520 yards against, that’s still an impressive feat,” one Big Ten recruiter said. “I liked Bibbs after his junior season and we recruited him a bit, but we just had one scholarship to offer at the running back position and we received an early verbal commitment. I’m always willing to look at a prospect again.”
Bibbs has been put back on the recruiting board by some other Big Ten schools.
“I honestly didn’t even know about his big game until you called,” a Big Ten assistant coach said.”We are still looking for a running back and … I’m going to ask for his senior tape, including that game this week. We just never seemed to get on the same page with Kapri and his recruiting. I just didn’t know about his overall speed, so we looked elsewhere.”
A few great games don’t make a big difference to everyone, though.
Because early commitments are more common these days, Bibbs’ word to Colorado State could mean less attention.
“I’m definitely going to look at his tape,” a MAC coach said. “But in the big picture, putting up a huge record-breaking game or season these days, it just seems to matter less and less.”
Another Big 12 coach added, “Bibbs to me could wind up being one of those kids you’ll play against from a MAC or a Mountain West team down the road who will just tear it up, and you’ll just wonder, ‘Why didn’t we recruit him?'”
