Recruiting: Intriguing Athlete Richard Jibunor Talks Notre Dame Offer

Richard Jibunor has Notre Dame’s full attention.

Richard Jibunor isn’t the type of athlete that you come across often. The Nigerian-born athlete has truly blown away everyone who has watched him compete in the multiple sports takes part in. His natural athletic gifts allow him to dominate his opponents on the gridiron.

I caught up with Jibunor Monday morning to get his thoughts on Notre Dame and to talk about his recruitment. He told me that he was going to be speaking with Mike Elston later that day. A few hours later, Jibunor sent me a message that stated, “They offered me.”

I caught up with Jibunor in the evening and asked him what he thought of his new offer from the University of Notre Dame.

“Notre Dame is a good school. Like I’ve been saying, it’s one of the schools that I’ve been expecting an offer from. It’s one of the schools that I’ve really been looking into. They’ve been sending me mail for a long time and I’ve been hoping for the offer, so when the offer came in today, I was so happy about it,” stated Jibunor.

Considering Notre Dame is as strong as it is academically, I asked Jibunor about his academics. “That’s my number one priority. Right now, I’m not sure what I’ll study but so far it’s economics and business management,” Jibunor explained.

Jibunor went on to explain how he came into the game of football after his freshman year, his first year on American soil after arriving in the U.S. from Nigeria as part of a foreign exchange program.

“I played football for the first time my sophomore year,” explained Jibunor. “After my freshman year of playing basketball, cross-country, track and multiple sports, I liked football. I liked the physicality of the game.”

Jibunor explained that his talents were first noticed by his varsity football coaching staff while they took in his play on the basketball court.

“Even for my size, I play against guys who are very tall but due to the advantage of my strength, I’m able to make baskets,” Jibunor expressed. “My football coach really liked me after watching me play a couple of times and he liked my quickness and my speed. I was a state champion in track.”

“I met my coach in the summer before my sophomore year and told him I would like to play football and asked if he could teach me. I asked what position I would play and he said he wasn’t sure yet. He said they were going to teach me and that he would try me everywhere,” said Jibunor.

“I was so pumped waiting for summer workouts before my sophomore year, to play football. I started looking for camps and everything. I went to the Georgia camp and they had the best athletes in 2016. I got to compete with them,” explained Jibunor.

“I didn’t know what I was doing, but my testing, my 40-yard was amazing and the coaches were really impressed. That’s when I knew I chance at football,” stated Jibunor.

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Given Jibunor’s versatility and elite traits, he is able to play multiple positions at a high level. He explained to me what positions he is being recruited to play.

“Almost every school recruiting me likes me on both sides of the ball. With my size and speed, I’m definitely going to play special teams, but my main position, they’re still trying to figure that out,” Jibunor explained.

“They like me as a defensive end and as a linebacker, but some coaches like me as a tight end and some coaches like me as a receiver because of my height and speed,” he said. “I told every coach that has recruited me that I want to play on the defensive side. If they want to give me some reps on the offensive side, I’ll be ready to do it too,” added Jibunor, confidently.

I asked Jibunor for his thoughts on the Notre Dame coaching staff. “The staff is awesome, especially coach Mike Elston,” said Jibunor. “They’ve been following me since my junior season.”

Next, Jibunor explained his upcoming visit plans that include South Bend. “I know I definitely want to visit because I was waiting for the offer. I already had some schools that I’m waiting to go visit so I have to go visit them, but definitely, Notre Dame is a school that I will definitely go visit sometime soon,” said Jibunor.

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Richard Jibunor had one final thing to say before we ended the discussion.

“I’m someone who hates losing. Nothing is going to change. I’m going to keep playing the way I’ve been playing and try my best to win and try my best to help my team and my school the best that I can,” expressed Jibunor.

The Richard Jibunor story is an interesting one. His recruitment will most certainly be the same way. I believe the Irish certainly have a shot at getting his signature in the future. Getting him on campus will be the first step. He would be a significant pull from SEC country.