Missouri brings grad transfer Alex Ofodile home to Columbia

Alex Ofodile is coming home.

The Oregon graduate transfer wide receiver is coming back to Columbia to play at Missouri, after he was a star at Rock Bridge High School for four years.

Ofodile’s father A.J. was Alex’s high school coach at Rock Bridge and recently got named Missouri’s wide receiver coach. Head coach Barry Odom hired A.J. Ofodile to be his director of recruiting in May of 2016.

Ofodile did not immediately respond for comment, but his Instagram bio had the phrase “MIZZOU FOOTBALL” in it as of Friday night. He also tweeted out an emoji of a Tiger from his account.

As a 6-foot-2 wideout, Ofodile gives Missouri experience at a position it desperately needs help at after the graduation of J’Mon Moore leaves the Tigers with just a few experienced receivers going into the 2018 season.

“We’re thin there,” Missouri offensive coordinator Derek Dooley had said on Wednesday. “It’s a real area of concern if you really look at who’s coming back with some experience and a little production. There’s really only two guys.”

The news was first reported by PowerMizzou.com. Ofodile will graduate from Oregon in June but has two years of eligibility remaining. He’s the second graduate transfer from Oregon that Missouri has landed in as many days after the program added safety Khalil Oliver on Thursday.

Ofodile is no stranger to Missouri since his father played there and was recruited by the Tigers when he was coming out of high school in 2015. He was considered a four-star recruit and the No. 68 overall prospect in the nation according to ESPN. Ofodile was one of the three highest rated in-state recruits along with quarterback Drew Lock, a Lee’s Summit native, and tight end Hale Hentges.

Lock committed to Missouri and will be throwing to Ofodile after a three-year wait, while Hentges committed to Alabama.

In his last two seasons in high school, Ofodile caught 188 passes for 2,911 yards and 31 touchdowns. But at Oregon, he was never able to establish himself after battling coaching changes and injuries.

This story was originally published February 9, 2018 at 7:33 PM with the headline "Missouri brings grad transfer Alex Ofodile home to Columbia."