Sep 26, 2015; Waco, TX, USA; Rice Owls safety JT Ibe (17) sits by himself on the bench during the fourth quarter of the game between the Baylor Bears and the Owls at McLane Stadium. The Bears defeat the Owls 70-17. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
With less than a week left before national signing day, it will be a quieter weekend on campus for the Iowa State coaching staff as Rice graduate transfer safety J.T. Ibe is expected to be the Cyclones’ only official visitor.
Ibe was visited by Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell and defensive backs coach D.K. McDonald down in Texas on Monday.
“They just continually said how I can come in and play and lead the team to a championship,” Ibe told Cyclone Fanatic earlier this week. “Just excited to see everything the school has to offer.”
The Mansfield, Texas native was fifth on the team with 42 tackles during his junior season with the Owls. He also recorded three pass breakups, a tackle for loss, a fumble recovery and a forced fumble.
Ibe, who has also received offers from Georgia Tech, Indiana, Kansas and Colorado since announcing his release from Rice, made 141 tackles, eight of them for a loss, and eight pass breakups during his first three seasons of collegiate action. He was also recognized with the program’s Iron Owl Award for his efforts in the weight room following the 2016 season.
Iowa State is in the process of replacing graduated safeties Kamari Cotton-Moya, Evrett Edwards and Reggie Wilkerson from the 2017 starting lineup. The staff made a big first step in that process by signing early-enrollee JUCO safety, and former Ole Miss Rebel, Greg Eisworth during the early signing period.
Adding Ibe into the mix would be another big piece in rebuilding the back-end of the Cyclones’ secondary heading into what figures to be an exciting 2018 Iowa State football season.
