During the third round of the NFL draft on Saturday, former UL running back Jacob Kibodi believed he would be teammates with former Ragin’ Cajun Max Mitchell.
But then the New York Jets took two running backs in the fourth and fifth rounds, and the plans shifted to one Kibodi preferred even more.
Kibodi’s new plan involved signing an undrafted free agent contract with the New Orleans Saints.
“Honestly, the Saints is where I wanted to be,” Kibodi added. “Growing up in Baton Rouge and watching them made me want to stay and play for the hometown team. It happened this way for a purpose, and I’m relieved it worked out.
“I grew up as a diehard Saints supporter. I owned jerseys from Reggie Bush, Drew Brees, and Marques Colston.
Kibodi joined two other UL teammates as undrafted free agents who received calls following the draft: wide receiver Peter LeBlanc and tight end Neal Johnson. The Dallas Cowboys selected offensive tackle Nathan Thomas in the seventh round.
“It was amazing,” Kibodi stated about his weekend. “It was a dream come true.”
With UL being his third college program, Kibodi switched positions from running back to receiver and back to running back until finally bringing everything together last autumn.
“Hard work pays off – just sticking with it and not quitting,” he remarked. “I’ve had a lot of individuals tell me they use my story for motivation. We all go through things in life. Anyone can take my tale as motivation to keep going. It is bigger than football.”
Indeed, no Cajun athlete drew more attention throughout the fall season than Kibodi, who led UL in rushing with 729 yards and seven touchdowns.
Kibodi, a wide receiver earlier in his career, caught nine passes for 79 yards and a touchdown and shown his route-running and receiving abilities during pro day events.
The Baton Rouge native is hopeful his skill set will complement the new scheme implemented by new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak.
“That is definitely exciting,” Kibodi added. “The running back coach is new, as is the offensive coordinator. The OC previously coached for the 49ers, thus he will bring that offence to the Saints.
“You know how they used Christian McCaffery over there, so I’m hoping that I’ll be able to go in and show my versatility and work hard on special teams and do whatever I’ve got to do to make the team.”
Kibodi will make an impression on Saints coaches during the rookie minicamp, which runs from May 10 to 12.
“The first thing is to learn this playbook,” he told me.”Focus on special teams, continue to improve my running game, and work on pass protection and reads. Simply put, I want to be in the greatest form possible to execute anything this team requires of me.
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