Future Owl Rod Streater is No. 81 in highlights.
Axel Ofori:By Mike Gibson
“I visit Temple this weekend,” said Ofori. “I am really looking forward to the trip. If everything goes well I should leave with an offer and it is one that I want.
....“I just want to be at a place where I can compete and play. That is the fit I am looking for. It doesn’t have to be a certain level but it has to be a certain type of place. ... I am not ruling out anybody.
....
“I am expecting to really like Temple and if they like me and offer than my recruiting could be done. I feel that strongly about the school."
From Scout.com, Jan. 20, 2010
They say there are three seasons in college football.
Spring practice, the fall season itself and recruiting season.
I have a hunch that we are in the middle of the most important season, the recruiting one.
My thinking is that if you do well in this season, the one between the end of the bowl game and Feb. 3, success will naturally follow in the other two seasons.
It ends on Feb. 3 when the faxes with the signed letter-of-intents arrive at Edberg-Olson Hall, but this is the stretch drive, the playoffs if you will.
Axel Ofori was one of a handful of guys who made their visits to Temple this weekend.
I don't know Axel Ofori from Axel Foley, but I like him already.
I like any defensive back who runs a 4.4-40 because you can't have too much speed back there on the last line of defense.
What I like most about him, though, is the attitude on top of his talent.
Or, as they say here in Philly, his Attytude.
There might be bigger stars in this class of commits so far. I write might because you never know until they get here. Judging by the film, though, Nate Smith (RB/LB) of Highland Park (N.J.) could be one of the cornerstones. WR Deon Miller (coming in via last year's class this year) could help right away, too.
Still, to me, it's not as much about what they have done it's what they say before they get here.
Every year, someone has said something that jumped off the page to me.
Last year, it was an offensive lineman from Immaculata High (N.J.), Cody Bohler, who called the guys on the Temple team "the greatest bunch of guys I've ever met."
This year, it's Axel Ofori.
Gotta love his quotes from a couple of days ago on Scout.com about Temple University, the Temple football program and how much he likes the school.
Axel Ofori was in town this weekend on an official visit to Temple hoping to receive a scholarship.
One of the hallmarks of Al Golden's stay here is that he does things the right way ... he won't go after other people's commits and usually does a good enough job holding onto his own
One of the hallmarks of Al Golden's stay here is that he does things the right way and the kids can sense he's genuine.
He won't go after other people's commits and usually does a good enough job holding onto his own.
If Ofori gets the offer and does commit, he will be the 20st of this class. Already 19 have committed.
By my count, there are about five scholarships left.
Whoever gets one of those four, should accept.
They will get a chance to play right away for a guy who does things the right way at a school about to win championships and make the cover of Sports Illustrated.
Think about it for a second.
Golden already has told boosters that Temple is "loaded" next season. The Owls return six first-team All-MAC performers.
With just a little help with the pass rush and passing game and secondary coverage (heck, maybe long-snapping), it's not a stretch to think this team can't take the next step.
What's the next step?
Take down national FCS champ Villanova before 45,000 people in the opening game and then repeat a similar run through the MAC all the while adding wins over Penn State and UConn.
Do that and Temple makes the cover of Sports Illustrated and becomes the No. 1 "feel good" story in the nation.
Some of these recruits will write that story next season, just like the one true freshman Bernard Pierce help pen last season. That one was a nice little story that had what Golden called an "unimaginable" ending.
This story could be a lot more compelling with a much happier end.
I can't wait to read the Axel Ofori quotes in that one.
