Odenigbo talks about his Ohio State offer
The Ohio State coaching staff has certainly been active on the recruiting trail this week. The Buckeyes have now offered three junior prospects this week from the state of Ohio. The latest to grab an offer is Centerville defensive end/linebacker Ifeadi Odenigbo. The 6-foot-4, 215-pound prospect is one of Ohio's most feared pass rushers.
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"I was so surprised and shocked," Odenigbo said. "I was in the library getting ready for a test and so my coach came in and was just like 'Ifeadi come here' and he gave me a firm handshake and said, 'congrats Ohio State offered you'. I was just so surprised, I didn't see it coming whatsoever."
Odenigbo has been living in a state of surprise for weeks now as he continues to explode with big time offers.
"I'm just very grateful," he said. "I'm very grateful to be a part of such a great program (at Centerville) because I never really thought this situation would happen to be completely honest."
So where does this offer put Ohio State in the grand scheme of things?
"They'll be towards the top of the list," he said. "I don't really have a school that I'm leaning towards just yet. I really haven't put too much thought into yet because like I said, I never thought I would be in this situation. I'm just going to visit schools on some unofficial visits and talk to my family about it."
While Odenigbo hasn't narrowed his list down, he does hope to ultimately make his college decision before his senior football season.
"I'm most likely going to make my decision in the summer," he said. "If I still can't make my choice in the summer then I will likely wait until after the season and just take my official visits."
The son of Nigerian immigrants, football and American sports in general are still a new thing to the Odenigbo family so everything is still a learning experience at the moment.
"Sports wasn't really a big deal for my family," he explained. "My dad is like 6-foot-4/6-foot-5 and the sport he played growing up was squash. My dad still doesn't understand football."
For someone who has only spent two years playing football, this meteoric rise from track athlete to an elite football prospect has been a humbling experience. This fall, Odenigbo knows he will have a major target on his back and he's looking forward to proving to everyone that he's more than worthy of the recent attention.
"There's definitely pressure," said Odenigbo of his status as one of Ohio's best prospects. "I look at it as a challenge though. I'm a person that likes a challenge. I'm just going to make sure that I work hard to help my team out because it's not really about me, it's always about the team. I'm very excited for the pressure."
Odenigbo and teammate Benny McGowan will both be in Columbus on February 27th for a junior day. Odenigbo will also be taking in a junior day on the 26th at Notre Dame.
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