SMCC graduate Ayden Opfer plays key recruiting role for Temple Univ. football

SANDUSKY — College football recruits can't visits campuses. Players are stuck at home. So how do coaches and programs stay in touch? Ayden Opfer has some ideas. Opfer, a 2013 St. Mary Central Catholic graduate, is an assistant director of creative media for Temple University's football program. Connecting with kids is the lifeblood of a college football program, and that skill has become even more vital as the coronavirus pandemic lingers. "We live in a social media-driven world; it's how it is now," said Opfer, who is temporarily stationed at the Sandusky home of his parents, Mike and Dana. "It's about how can we convey our program, especially at a time when this is really the only means of sharing how Temple looks because they can't visit." Opfer, 25, tries to make Temple look good for recruits. On Friday, TempleTuff posted a 55-second video on Twitter that featured current players talking about why they chose Temple. He sends material to recruits twice weekly and also posts campus tours. It's all about connecting and keeping Temple's brand visible as the top prospects in the Class of 2021 make their commitments in advance of Signing Day in December. When a recruit gets an offer from a college and announces it on social media, the attractive graphics they use are created by the colleges. That's part of what Opfer does at Temple, which is a member of the American Athletic Conference. Opfer stayed busy watching the three-day NFL draft last week, boosting the Temple brand. The Owls had program-record four players drafted and four more signed as undrafted free agents. "That's what everyone dreams of — especially 18-year-old high school kids," he said. Opfer front-loaded possible social media material ahead of time so he could immediately post graphics when a player was drafted. When the Minnesota Vikings drafted Temple cornerback Harrison Hand in the fifth round, for example, Opfer had something with a Vikings logo ready to post. Opfer, who was an offensive lineman at SMCC, had no formal training for his job. He graduated from Bowling Green State University in 2017 and helped coached the Panthers while he was in school. After graduating, he worked as a middle school gym teacher in Euclid for 1 1/2 years and was an assistant coach for the high school football team. He wanted to coach football, but in December 2018 Opfer took a graduate assistant intern position on the football staff at Ohio Northern University and produced graphics to connect with recruits on social media. He moved on to Army last summer as a football intern. That experience led to a graduate assistant job at Temple last fall, and in January he was promoted to a full-time position. His job is one that most football coaches couldn't have envisioned when they got their start. "You'd ask coaches 20 years ago and they wouldn't have cared," Opfer said about emphasizing social media. "Now every team's gotta have that." Opfer is a self-trained social media whiz. He also sought advice from his brother Alex, who is a graphics designer in the Chicago area. Opfer was encouraged to develop his skills after getting good feedback from posters he produced at SMCC that highlighted a virtue of the week. "They seemed to take off so I got better through YouTube tutorials and asking my brother stuff," he said. "It's been nice to lean on someone with his background. I didn't have any formal training." Opfer's football background is a plus in his new role, even though his lineman's mentality doesn't exactly mesh with the self-promotional leanings of many modern athletes. "A lot of kids will post on Twitter when we send them stuff," he said. "Very rarely do you see a lineman post it. That's their nature; they just get down to work. Linemen rarely have Twitter, too. That's how it is." Opfer says Twitter is the No. 1 recruiting platform for colleges, but Instagram is picking up steam. Opfer has moved four times since graduating from BGSU. He's gaining valuable experience in a field where plenty of opportunities exist, but sounds happy to be living in Philadelphia while working for one of the top Group of Five football programs in the country. "I'm definitely happy at Temple. The people are great," he said. "(Head coach Rod Carey) is really a family guy. He's given me an opportunity. I really miss coaching, but I wake up every and love what I'm doing."