Lawrence High’s Kobe Buffalomeat wins National Signing Day by virtue of his name
One of the fun parts of National Signing Day is the interesting names that pop up from around the country.
Oklahoma on Wednesday landed a receiver named Charleston Rambo. Penn State got receiver Mic Hippenhammer. But the player who has drawn the most attention on Wednesday is Lawrence High offensive lineman Kobe Buffalomeat.
Illinois State tweeted the signing of Buffalomeat and in three hours it had been favorited or retweeted more than 7,000 times. No other tweet about a recruit got more than a few hundred interactions.
Lawrence, Kansas 6'7" OL Kobe Buffalomeat (@buffalomeat10) joins a stacked class up front for the 'Birds #RedbirdNSD17 pic.twitter.com/ng9IhUtZoU
— Illinois State FB (@RedbirdFB) February 1, 2017
There was talk that Buffalomeat might be on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” on Wednesday night. Twitter absolutely embraced Buffalomeat, including one of the stars of “Key and Peele,” the comedy duo that had a few routines about funny football player names.
You win, God. https://t.co/t4hD2LBB3K
— Jordan Peele (@JordanPeele) February 1, 2017
Jordan Peele also sent a message to Buffalomeat:
@JordanPeele haha thank you
— Buff (@buffalomeat10) February 1, 2017
By the way, Buffalomeat is a 6-foot-7, 285-pound offensive lineman.
Here are some of the other fun mentions of Buffalomeat, who retweeted some of them:
BREAKING: Illinois State signs the best recruit name in college football recruiting history pic.twitter.com/ysGYiH51Qz
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) February 1, 2017
We compare the recruit with a 5-star name (Kobe Buffalomeat) to another familiar Kobe Buffalomeat from the Los Angeles area... pic.twitter.com/feMFYJUsTL
— 120 Sports (@120Sports) February 1, 2017
*Kobe Buffalomeat goes to school*
— Michael Lananna (@mlananna) February 1, 2017
Kobe: "OK, I'm heading off to class now. Bye mom! Bye dad!
Mr. and Mrs. Buffalomeat: "Bison!"
@RedbirdFB @buffalomeat10 Can we pre-order his jersey?
— Arby's (@Arbys) February 1, 2017
Jay Z and Beyonce gotta name their kid Kobe Buffalomeat Knowles #KobeBuffalomeat #nsd17
— Jackson Hoy (@J_Hoy33) February 1, 2017
@RedbirdFB @buffalomeat10 Any word on Ron Pizzadough starting this year?
— DiGiorno Pizza (@DiGiornoPizza) February 1, 2017
@RedbirdFB @buffalomeat10 Why do websites cap custom jerseys at 10 characters? Trying to get my Illinois State Redbirds Buffalomeat jersey. pic.twitter.com/hEUKRxezhV
— Allan Lem (@AllanLemDFS) February 1, 2017
If only I had reason to be in Lawrence, Kansas. Oh wait https://t.co/WM6xOmx3Ls
— Teddy Greenstein (@TeddyGreenstein) February 1, 2017
Seriously considering putting Kobe Buffalomeat on my business cards instead of my name. Wow. What a freaking name. KOBE FREAKIN BUFFALOMEAT.
— Uncle Phred (@MrSmiley15) February 1, 2017
While people were having fun with the name, others were puzzled. This is clearly an American Indian name:
Have you really never heard a Native American name before? Sheesh...congrats Kobe Buffalomeat!
— MissDawn2you (@MissDawn2you) February 1, 2017
congrats to Kobe Buffalomeat, but y'all actin like you've never heard a Native American last name before lmao
— inie (@oeskese) February 1, 2017
If you were wondering about Buffalomeat the player. Illinois State made a video of his skills on the football field:
Welcome to @RedbirdFB: Kobe Buffalomeat
— RedbirdHD.tv (@RedbirdHDTV) February 1, 2017
Lawrence, KS // Lawrence High School
VIDEO: https://t.co/qNDbpoAwgw#RedbirdNSD17 // @RedbirdFB pic.twitter.com/fsk3qbQ1zQ
Pete Grathoff: 816-234-4330, @pgrathoff
This story was originally published February 1, 2017 at 2:00 PM.