Ofodile rattling off visits

The next leg of Alex Ofodile's unofficial visit schedule is, in a word, aggressive.

It includes at least eight out-of-state stops before June 6. It opens on Mar. 14 on the campus of Nebraska and will wrap up at Penn State in early June. The itinerary also features stops at Iowa (Mar. 28) Notre Dame (April 12), Michigan State (April 26), North Carolina (May. 10), Clemson (May 11) and Ohio State (June 1).

The purpose of the Columbia (Mo.) Rock Bridge wide receiver's spring barnstorming tour is simple. His experiences there will be a major factor when it comes time for him to schedule official visits.

"I'm not setting any expectations on any of the visits," Ofodile said. "I'll decide my officials from those unofficials. Like, with Ole Miss, when I visited there, it kind of shocked me. It ended up being a great visit, so I'm not going to place any expectations or look forward to one more than the others."

Despite living in down the road from Missouri's campus and visiting the football facilities often, Ofodile continues trumpet the fact that every school involved in his recruitment stands on level ground. Sure, his dad played for the Tigers. Sure, he grew up a Mizzou fan. But he disputes the notion that it's only a matter of time before he commits to the Tigers.

According to him, his is a very real recruiting battle. The 23 scholaship offers he holds aren't simple window dressing.

"It's definitely all pretty even right now," Ofodile said. "I just want to see where I fit best. I definitely really like Mizzou, but I have to pick the best fit for me. I can't pick emotionally."

A four-star prospect and the No. 118 prospect in the Rivals250 presented by Under Armour, Ofodile has always refrained from naming frontrunners. Of any sort He has no problem engaging in a conversation about which school is recruitment him the hardest, though. Asked to name the assistant coach with whom he has the closest relatioships, he starts to discuss a surprising Big 10 program.

"I talk to Bobby Kennedy from Iowa. I talk to him pretty much every day," Ofodile said. "I talk to him the most. After that, everyone else is pretty much equal. We talk about his thoughts on me. They're super high. He kind of tells me what I could do for the Iowa program."

Ofodile has set a goal of making a verbal commitment in August but says he will wait until after his senior season if need be.