Lawrence High senior Kobe Buffalomeat, second from left, joins teammates Cole Brungardt (Kansas), Trey Moore (Emporia State) and Jacob Unruh (Fort Hays State) in signing letters of intent to play college football at an after-school-ceremony at LHS on Wednesday. His unique name made Buffalomeat a Twitter sensation throughout the day on Wednesday and the 6-foot-7 offensive lineman is scheduled to appear on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Thursday, Feb. 2.

Kobe Buffalomeat was sitting at his desk during second hour at Lawrence High on Wednesday morning when the world as he knew it changed.

It may not be changed forever and it may not be something others remember much past Wednesday, but the LHS senior’s 15-minute brush with fame had a wild impact on Buffalomeat, his friends and his family.

After signing his national letter of intent to play football at Illinois State before the start of school, Buffalomeat grabbed his jacket and headed out the door, prepared for what he thought would be another normal day.

There’s no doubt that signing day was big. But for an athlete who did not even decide to play football until the summer before his senior season, there was still a fair amount of awe and uncertainty about what the game had actually given him.

And then the Tweets came and never stopped. After receiving his letter just after 7:45 a.m., the football office at Illinois State Tweeted out the official announcement that the big kid with the unique name had joined the program.

“After that, it just blew up from there,” Buffalomeat said.

Ten Retweets here, 14 more there, another five here and even more after that. Before noon, Buffalomeat had become a nationally known name and even was trending on Twitter.

LHS football coach Dirk Wedd, who spent the morning at a jury selection, said his phone dinged the entire way from the courthouse to his car. When it stopped, Wedd had 125 alerts, inquiries and text messages from people wanting to confirm that Buffalomeat’s name was real. ESPN, Sports Illustrated, Jimmy Kimmel and dozens of others reached out to get a piece of the 6-foot-7, 285-pound offensive lineman who plans to grayshirt next year and red-shirt the year after that before beginning his actual playing career.

Buffalomeat, who said he did not even imagine playing college football until he was named first-team all-Sunflower League following the Lions’ 6-4 season, is scheduled to appear on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Thursday night, adding yet another wild wrinkle to an unforgettable day.

“I never thought I’d be signing to play football somewhere,” said Buffalomeat, the last of three LHS multi-sport varsity athletes to play for the Lions during the past decade. “It just all worked out. All those practices, all those sprints, all those tough days, it was all worth it.”

Added Wedd: “It’s been an unbelievable fairytale and he’s become a heck of a football player.”

Buffalomeat was one of four LHS football players to sign letters of intent at an after-school ceremony attended by more than 100 friends, family members, coaches and mentors.

Cole Brungardt, the Lions’ all-Sunflower League kicker during the past two seasons, joined the Kansas football program as a preferred walk-on and fellow teammates Trey Moore (Emporia State) and Jacob Unruh (Fort Hays State) sat at the front of the room and delivered one final act as football teammates.

The moment was equal parts heartfelt and comedic, with each player thanking friends and family and taking light-hearted shots at themselves and Wedd.

Asked whether he thought his newfound fame would follow him to his new school in Illinois, Buffalomeat laughed and said simply, “Who knows? I guess maybe when I get there people might remember the name, but it doesn’t really matter to me either way. It’s fun. I’ve enjoyed it. And I’m gonna ride the wave while it lasts.”