INKED: RB Todd Sibley signs with Pitt

Todd Sibley became the 12th player to sign with Pitt’s football program in the 2017 recruiting class on National Signing Day at 8:13 AM, joining his classmates signing today and four early enrollees who have already been in class at Pitt. Sibley is a standout running back from Akron (Ohio) Archbishop Hoban and one of the top rushers in the state of Ohio's illustrious history. Here’s a brief look back at his journey as a recruit and his history with Pitt:

First mention on Rivals: For a period of months, bordering on years, Sibley's recruitment looked like it would be a classic Ohio recruiting battle between Ohio State and Michigan. Sibley was first mentioned on Rivals by in March of 2014 when a productive freshman season at Akron (Ohio) Archbishop Hoban put Sibley on Michigan's radar for a visit. By that time next year, both schools had offered Sibley and were contending for his services. The recruiting battle eventually resulted in a commitment to Ohio State on April 18th, 2015 at the Buckeyes' spring game, a commitment which lasted over a year.

Sibley flips to Pitt: After rumors of the Buckeyes asking Sibley to take a grayshirt at Ohio State surfaced, a situation which Sibley says was misunderstood and misreported, the running back nonetheless decommitted and flipped to Pitt on June 15th, 2016. Sibley was the 6th commit in Pitt's 2017 recruiting class. He also held offers from the likes of Ohio State, Michigan, Kentucky, and Akron.

In his words: “I think what really got me about Pitt is that offensively the play style that they run is similar to the one that we run right now at my current high school. I’ll obviously have to adjust but it wouldn’t be as big of an adjustment as if I had to learn a whole new offense and how I would fit into it and all of that,” Sibley explained following the flip. “Secondly, I think my personality just fits Pitt. My head coach thinks that my personality and the way that I play football fits them. My parents feel that it was a great fit for me to. So, it was an easy decision, but at the same time it was still tough to leave my classmates."

Sibley's impact: Watch a video breakdown from Rivals.com Midwest recruiting analyst Josh Helmholdt on Sibley's impact.

From the coach: “Todd is a downhill runner, he’s physical,” Hoban head coach Tim Tyrell told Panther-Lair.com. “He’s not huge, but he’s a big kid at about 210 or 215. He’s definitely a north and south runner. He’s not a scat back kind of kid, although he’s got the speed of a scat back. He prefers north and south and I know Coach Narduzzi prefers that, too... He likes to be in-between the tackles. He’s got that breakaway speed. He’s a 10.8 kid in the 100-meter dash. So he has the speed, but he prefers to be an inside runner and to be physical. He gets better as the season and the game goes along and other guys wear down. He really fits that old school, pound the ball style.”

On his senior season and playing in the Under Armour game: “I’m just taking it in and taking it all day by day. Four years of high school really flew by and it’s almost coming to an end. So I’m just taking it day by day, but I’m going to start training and getting ready for the college level. Playing in the Under Armour game definitely got me ready because everybody there is a top player and at that next level. Playing there helped me learn a lot,” Sibley explained. “I’m just getting ready for graduation though and hanging with my friends, so I’m just taking advantage and living life to its fullest because you never get these days back.”

On his official visit: “We were around the coaches like 24/7, which was great. I keep talking to coach Powell and coach Narduzzi about everything and getting ready. They want me to have an impact on the offense immediately. So whenever me and coach Powell had time at the facilities, we were going over plays and protection coverages and defenses and small stuff like that so I can be prepared in June,” Sibley said. “They want me to play and they have the confidence in me that I can. With injuries and people leaving and James [Conner] going to the league, it couldn’t be a more perfect set up for me to come in and have an instant impact. I’ll try to do my best over the summer and work my way in.”