Tough. Determined. Accountable. #MizzouMade.

A.J. Ofodile’s path to becoming a Division I college football coach may not have been the most typical route. After a successful career in the NFL, Ofodile’s coaching journey included 16 years as a high school coach just three miles south of Faurot Field at Columbia’s own Rock Bridge High School. It was there that Ofodile crossed paths with a man whose career come-up was all too similar to Ofodile’s – third-year Mizzou head coach Barry Odom.

Odom and Ofodile teamed to take Rock Bridge to heights not seen at the school in decades – Odom as head coach and Ofodile as the offensive coordinator. The two instilled values that each of them learned during their playing days at Mizzou to elevate the Bruins to all new levels of success. In 2003, Odom joined Mizzou’s coaching staff and Ofodile took the reins at Rock Bridge as head coach, continuing to build on the foundation that the two laid in the first seasons under Odom. He guided the team to the State finals in 2013.

In 2016, Odom hired Ofodile from Rock Bridge to head the Mizzou’s recruiting efforts.

“I’ve leaned on his input in a lot of areas, and he’s constantly made our program better,” Odom said. “He’s a loyal guy who cares about our kids and making Mizzou the best it can be. I’m excited to have him on board with our coaching staff, and am looking forward to how he can help us improve.”

Last month, Odom elevated Ofodile to wide receivers coach, a well-earned promotion for a guy who helped lay the foundation for a high school program that embodied toughness, determination and accountability, all qualities that Odom is instilling at Mizzou.

“It is an amazing opportunity,” Ofodile said. “I really enjoyed the role I had previously; I felt like it was one that allowed be to impact the program in a really broad way, so I was grateful to be given that opportunity. But there is also the competitor in you that wants to get out on the field compete and coach and mentor kids.”

Ofodile’s playing career started in Detroit. He came to Mizzou as TE with plenty of upside and he delivered throughout his entire playing career as a letterwinner from 1991-93. He finished his Tiger career with 73 receptions for 851 yards and six touchdowns.

After an outstanding 1993 season which included 55 catches for 589 yards and four scores, he was drafted in the fifth round of the 1994 NFL Draft by Buffalo, and went on to spend six years in the league with Buffalo, Pittsburgh and Baltimore through 1999.

Ofodile hopes to draw on the experiences of being around elite level wideouts throughout his playing career as he moves into the coaching ranks this season.

“I’ve had a background at the college and professional level of being around some really elite groups of receivers,” Ofodile said. “The culture that was within those rooms was one of greatness. I’ve played with Hall of Famers, All-Pros. We had a bunch of those types of guys while I was here at Mizzou that went on to be NFL Draft picks. There is a specific culture that is associated with all of those groups that have success, so being around that and having the ability to interject that into the position will get those guys going.”

Odom agrees.

“His career as a player at the college and NFL levels will be very valuable,” Odom said.

Ofodile played in the NFL through 2009 and after that, he recognized the importance of returning to Mizzou to finish his degree after his professional football career came to a close. He graduated from Mizzou in August of 2001. It is that outlook on education and developing as a professional, all lessons learned at Mizzou, that make him a perfect mentor for the current Tigers as Odom and his staff continue to provide a platform for student-athletes to be successful for the next 40 or 50 years of their lives.

Since 2016, Ofodile served as Mizzou’s recruiting coordinator, laying the foundation for a pair of exciting recruiting classes. He spent his days identifying the type of student-athlete who would fit the identity and culture of a program that is beginning to embody the defining characteristics of the Mizzou teams that both he and Coach Odom played with.

Now, he gets the chance to jump into the meeting rooms with the wideouts as their leader and position coach.

“It is really exciting. You get a chance to put your stamp on it,” Ofodile said. “Especially with the group of receivers that we signed this year. We signed a huge group of guys, very talented group who are all in different stages of development as players and young men. To have a chance to be hands-on with their development, I couldn’t be more excited about working with those guys and the guys who have been here and I already have developed relationships with.”

With a background in recruiting, Ofodile recognizes that Mizzou is providing student-athletes with a platform for success that will enhance each players’ lives for the next four or five decades. That platform is not possible without the generous support of the Tiger Scholarship Fund, which provides the scholarships for each of the young men that he will continue to mentor at Mizzou.

“The kids are bought into the program and what we are trying to do,” Ofodile said. “We are excited about that moving forward. Also, on the recruiting trail, you get the chance to impact the life of a student-athlete as that primary relationship, so I am really fired up about that part too.”