‘Why wait?’: Marist’s Rico Schrieber commits to Purdue

Marist junior Rico Schrieber had a plan for how he wanted to handle his recruitment. Ideally, Schrieber planned to visit some colleges this spring, maybe earn some more offers and ultimately commit to a school before the start of his senior season.

Sometimes, plans change.

Schrieber made one of those campus visits over the weekend when he traveled down to Purdue to meet with its new coaches. But after being impressed by the facilities and the Boilermaker coaches' vision, Schrieber decided to break from this plan.

He committed to Purdue on Monday and announced his decision Wednesday.

“I wasn’t expecting to commit, honestly,” Schrieber said. “But I just thought, you know, why wait?”

Schrieber committed to Purdue after earning plenty of Power Four interest since the end of his freshman season. The previous Boilermaker coaching staff was the second staff to offer him near the end of his freshman year.

Other schools like Nebraska and Miami followed suit and he earned offers from schools like Indiana, Kentucky, Florida and Missouri over the past two years.

Schrieber got a chance to meet with new Purdue head coach Barry Odom when he visited Marist a couple weeks ago and was impressed with his plans for the program. When he went down to West Lafayette, Ind., this weekend, he liked the facilities along with the Boilermakers' plan to develop him and the program.

“They just left a great impression on me,” Schrieber said. “I got to talk to every single coach. They all came up to me, they made me feel at home. [Offensive line coach] Vance Vice, he’s produced many NFL players. So I just thought it was the right choice for me right now.”

There will be plenty to work with. Schrieber is hard to miss on the RedHawks’ line with his 6-foot-7, 330-pound frame. Both Rivals and 247Sports list Schrieber as a three-star prospect, both ranking him top-20 in the Illinois Class of 2026.

Schrieber was a force for Marist on the offensive line this past fall. He helped the RedHawks offense finish with 3,900 total yards of offense in 11 games, which included 2,347 rushing yards. He earned All-CCL/ESCC honors for his season.

Marist finished with a 9-2 record under first-year head coach Mike Fitzgerald, reaching the second round of the Class 8A playoffs. The RedHawks lost to eventual state champion Loyola.

Fitzgerald was proud Schrieber’s hard work was rewarded. Despite earning plenty of interest from some of the nation’s top programs, Fitzgerald said Schrieber was always dedicated to becoming better in the weight room.

“They just left a great impression on me. I got to talk to every single coach. They all came up to me, they made me feel at home. [Offensive line coach] Vance Vice, he’s produced many NFL players. So I just thought it was the right choice for me right now.”

—  Rico Schrieber, Marist junior

He also didn’t doubt that Schrieber would be a perfect fit for a Purdue team that will need to run the ball in order to succeed.

“To win at a place like Purdue, you’re going to have to be able to run the football, and you’re going to have to be physical,” Fitzgerald said. “I think those are things that Rico brings to the table. I think it’s a great get for them. They did a great job getting him and I think he’s going to have a great career there.”

Before that, Schrieber is looking forward to the offseason. While he’s excited for the chance to compete at Purdue, Schrieber plans to develop over spring and summer to help Marist compete in the fall.

“That’s great for me to be able to just have it already decided,” Schrieber said. “I don’t have to worry about anything else. I could just focus on getting better.”