BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — This week's First Student Super 7 Athlete of the Week is a junior at Canisius High School who is breaking records and turning heads, getting noticed by dozens of the country's top colleges.
In Late September, Canisius High School running back Elijah Kimble became the school's all-time leading rusher, adding another record-smashing performance to his Crusader resume.
"It sank in when I was having a conversation with my grandad on the way to school, he was telling me, 'You're only a junior and you broke that in three years, and you've got this season and your senior year left,'" he said. "That's when I started thinking about it like I got a long way to go and I can really break more records."
"We've been playing football here a long time, and there's been a lot of great players here," head coach Kraig Kurzanski said. "For Elijah Kimble to stand at the top of that now, that's an impressive thing."
Breaking records and winning football games are all part of the recipe that gets you college offers, and Kimble currently has just under 40 Division I offers on the table.
"It never gets old, especially when my grandma is always reminding me, like 'Grandson, you're doing great things,' it never gets old," Kimble said.
In terms of high-level recruits that have come out of Western New York, Kimble's only rival in recent years might be Super Bowl champion Rob Gronkowski. To live up to the hype the way he has is something coach Kurzanski credits to his "never-satisfied" mentality.
"What made Michael Jordan the best? Why did he go out and shoot more foul shots? Why did he want to be the best ever? That's what I try to talk to Elijah a lot about," Kurzanski said. "He's never satisfied, and there's always a chip somewhere we can create on that shoulder."
In the grand scheme of things, perhaps Kimble's biggest accolade will be the spotlight he's helped bring back to football here in Western New York.
"A lot of scouts come here to watch us play, and we're getting more coverage on Instagram and stuff, so I realize I'm a key piece," Kimble said.
