MADISON, Wis. — When tailback Chris James took his recruiting visit to the University of Pittsburgh, his campus host was Rachid Ibrahim, a freshman running back.
"I was a senior in high school, 17 years old and didn't know anything then," said James, a 4-star prospect out of Chicago's Notre Dame Prep. "He (Ibrahim) sold me on whatever Pittsburgh was."
Pitt was home for two years for James, who transferred to UW where he has been reunited with head coach Paul Chryst, offensive coordinator Joe Rudolph and running backs coach John Settle.
The irony? When Ibrahim, a graduate transfer, took his recruiting visit to the University of Wisconsin last spring, his campus host was James, who will be eligible this season for the Badgers.
"It's a small world," said Ibrahim, who's from Rockville, Maryland.
"I'm definitely happy to have him here," said James.
Chryst sounded just as happy Friday about Ibrahim's presence on the roster.
"When we were recruiting him, we were recruiting him as a defensive back (at Pitt)," Chryst said. "We had a situation where we were really thin at running back and asked him to flip over.
"He has got a great football IQ. He got back into the terminology (of the offense) rather quickly. He's a sharp kid. He might be able to fill a void that we may have, particularly as a third-down back."
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