Mizzou football hires from within for 10th assistant coach

Missouri promoted from within to hire its 10th assistant football coach, A.J. Ofodile, the program’s current director of recruiting.

An NCAA rule change went into effect this week, opening up the new spot on the staff.

It is not clear at this time what position group Ofodile will coach, but his new job is likely to include work with special teams, according to a source.

According to a release from Mizzou athletics announcing the hire, details of Ofodile’s contract will be released once fully executed, along with his duties.

“A.J. has been a very vital member of our staff the past two years,” Mizzou coach Barry Odom said. “I’ve leaned on his input in a lot of areas, and he’s constantly made our program better. 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. His career as a player at the college and NFL levels will be very valuable as well as his previous coaching experience. The past two years overseeing our recruiting department has provided great results for us on the field, and he will certainly continue those efforts in his new role.”

Ofodile, a former all-Big Eight tight end at Missouri, was a fifth-round NFL Draft pick and spent six years in the league. He then worked on Odom’s staff at Rock Bridge High School in Columbia from 2001-02. Ofodile succeeded Odom as Rock Bridge’s head coach and stayed in that job at the high school until joining Odom at Mizzou in May 2016.

Ofodile was as candidate to become a Missouri assistant coach at that time before ultimately landing a job in the Tigers’ recruiting department. As an assistant coach, he will travel for recruiting more often.

In his old job, Ofodile was key in formulating Odom’s first two recruiting classes. Under Odom, the Tigers have had an increased focus on recruiting Michigan, Ofodile’s home state.

Austyn Carta-Samuels, a former Vanderbilt quarterback, worked directly below Ofodile as Missouri’s recruiting coordinator. Carta-Samuels is in line to take over as the program’s director of recruiting, according to a source.

Odom’s assistant coaching staff is now complete. He recently hired former Tennessee coach Derek Dooley to be offensive coordinator, as well as Brad Davis to be offensive line coach and Vernon Hargreaves to coach inside linebackers.

This story was originally published January 8, 2018 at 10:24 AM with the headline "Mizzou football hires from within for 10th assistant coach."