For the second year in a row, Festus Football Coach A.J. Ofodile is send a senior to a “Power 5” college Football Bowl Subdivision program on scholarship, a rarity in school history. But the path to getting there couldn’t be more different.
Kaian Roberts-Day was offered by Baylor University on April 30, 2020, committed to the Bears in June of that year and couldn’t sign with the school until December of 2021.
To say that Arhmad Branch’s road to Purdue has been compressed by comparison would be an understatement.
He signed with the Boilermakers Wednesday on the first day of the February signing period, less than two weeks after getting the offer--his first at the FBS level-- and just three days after he verbally committed to the program.
The February signing period has turned into something of an afterthought for many programs when it comes to signing high school recruits, thanks to growth of the transfer portal, where programs can get players with college experience and college-developed bodies. Many schools will only sign a handful of high school players in February and have cut down on the number they take during the December period to bulk up on transfers.
Branch was relatively new to the game and only had two years playing at the high school level. After his junior year, he reported Football Championship Subdivision offers and interest from Northern Iowa, Tennessee-Martin and Lindenwood. He followed up with all-state honors as a senior.
Ofodile, the former MU tight end who used to manage recruiting operations under Barry Odom’s Mizzou staff and was later a position coach in Columbia, couldn’t figure out why Branch, who also averages more than 20 points per game on the Festus basketball team, wasn’t getting more attention from larger programs. Branch was nearly unknown to the recruiting services who rank prospects.
“In recruiting, there’s kind of a comfort with the stops that you’re familiar with and areas you’re familiar with and it kind of becomes a little bit of wives tale deal where kids from this area are fast, kids from this area are tough, you know or kids from that area are slow, so there’s things that don’t make sense when you sit down and actually think about ‘em but they’re a big part of it.”
“To be honest with you, Jefferson County is not a recruiting hotbed,” he said.
But in recruiting, relationships can be everything. Purdue hired former MU and Illinois defensive coordinator Ryan Walters as the team’s new head coach in mid-December. Walters then hired defensive line coach Brick Haley and cornerbacks coach Sam Carter. All of them overlapped with Ofodile at Mizzou.
Ofodile told Spectrum News he gave it some time before getting in touch with Walters, who was hired just as the December transfer portal had opened and a week before high school prospects could sign. Which direction would Purdue focus?
“I assumed they’d be done with high school and just in on portal guys and he said no because of the portal, there’s a ton of really talented high school kids out there who’ve gotten overlooked so we’re going to do our best to identify those guys and bring some of those guys in,” Ofodile said.
Two minutes after sending Branch’s film to Walters, Ofodile said he got a reply, wondering why the prospect wasn’t in higher demand.
Purdue started doing its diligence. Tennessee was investigating, with Head Coach Josh Heupel making a visit in-person. Gardner-Webb, another FCS school, offered Jan. 13.
Purdue offered Jan. 20. Suddenly, the recruiting services took note, and Branch became a 3 and 4 star recruit overnight.
Branch gave a verbal commitment after an official visit this past weekend, less than 72 hours before he’s able to make it official on Wednesday.
The path to Purdue could take a few more twists--Ofodile thinks Branch could be just as good a prospect to play cornerback. And could another sport be in his future? What if Purdue men's basketball coach Matt Painter asked about his availability as a walk-on?
"That would be a good one to get for free if Coach Walters will allow that, you never know," Ofodile said.
