Ofodile collecting interest, taking trips

It's early in his recruitment, so who knows what will develop. One this is certain, though: nobody will question Alex Ofodile's toughness.

When the 6-foor-3 wide receiver dislocated his thumb at Kentucky's team camp earlier this summer, he had it popped into place and simply continued catching passes. When it was dislocated for a second time the next day, he tried to manually reposition it again.

The second attempt at fixing it with a quick pop didn't yield the same success. This time, it required surgery. Ofodile is supposed to miss four weeks of football, but he's hopeful he'll be back for Columbia (Mo.) Rock Bridge's opening game.

"I might not miss my first game, but I might," Ofodile said. "It just depends how me rehab goes."

But it's his talent, not his toughness, that has netted him four scholarship offers. Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Memphis and Northwestern have all made things official. Ofodile knows it's early in the process, but, still, he likes three of his offers a bit more than he likes the other.

"I guess I kind of have, like, a top three," he said. "Kentucky, Vanderbilt and Memphis are the top three. I talked to Josh Gattis. He recruits me for Vanderbilt. I talk to him, like, twice a week. I talk to the other coaches about once a week."

Then there's the offer he seems capable of changing things Ofodile doesn't come right out and say how much pull a Missouri offer would have in his recruitment, but the factors speak for themselves. Ofodile grew up in Columbia, the very town in which the Tigers play their home game. His father, A.J. Ofodile, played tight end for Mizzou in the 1990s.

"I haven't really talked to Missouri about what they're waiting for," Ofodile said. "Early in the summer, they told me they were really impressed at the camp. I thought they were going to offer me after that, but they didn't. My dad thinks that because they are taking five receivers in 2014 class, they are waiting on receivers in my class. We're not sure about that. It's just what we think."

For now, Ofodile can only work with the options he's been given. He will take an unofficial visit to Wisconsin On Aug. 6 and hopes to earn offer No. 6 while on the Badgers' campus.

"My dad contacted the receivers coach there and he saw my film," Ofodile said. "He was, like, really interested. I'm visiting there on Tuesday. I'm not sure if I'll get an offer, but I hope."

Ofodile says he intends to make a verbal commitment just before the start of his senior season.