Alabama freshman WR Caleb Odom proving he's 'the real deal' during camp
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The play of Alabama’s preseason can be found 28 seconds into the team’s highlight video from last weekend’s scrimmage.
In case you haven’t already seen it, Caleb Odom pulled off a spectacular one-handed catch, extending every bit of his 6-foot-5 frame to reel in a ball over freshman cornerback Jaylen Mbakwe. The highlight served as the public’s first look at the freshman receiver’s playmaking ability in crimson and white. However, Odom’s Alabama teammates have been used to grabs like those behind the scenes this offseason.
“He’s the real deal,” receiver Emmanuel Henderson said. “He’s a big guy. He’s going to go up and make amazing catches. Last scrimmage he made an amazing one-hand catch that was one of the best catches I’ve seen in my life in person.”
Odom signed with Alabama as the No. 2 tight end and No. 73 overall player in this year’s class. After joining the team in late December, he was moved to wide receiver where the Crimson Tide could better take advantage of his length and athleticism.
“I’m a wide receiver. I’m a taker,” Odom told the Crimson Tide Sports Network in May. “I’ve never really played tight end, to be quite honest. Throughout high school, I never took one snap at tight end. They just kind of had me at tight end. So I was gonna come up here and play tight end. It would be my first time ever playing tight end for Coach Saban, and then obviously, what happened happened.
“And then Coach [JaMarcus] Shephard and Coach [Kalen] DeBoer came in and they saw what I could really do from my practice clips in the bowl prep. So they were like, ‘We’ve gotta put this guy back at wide receiver.’ They did, and I’m definitely happy because that’s where I feel most comfortable.”
So far, Odom’s first offseason has been a success. After soaking up Alabama’s offense during spring camp, he has appeared more comfortable with his assignments and alignments this month. The freshman is currently working with the X receivers during practice, along with junior Kendrick Law, redshirt freshman Jaren Hamilton and fellow newcomer Ryan Williams.
“Every day Caleb does something to impress you and every day there’s still things for him to improve on and I know Coach Shep is pointing those out,” offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan said following Wednesday’s practice. “In every moment that Caleb’s out there, he’s getting coached extremely hard. A lot to be excited about and a lot to work on and we’re super happy with where Caleb’s at and we know there’s still even more for him to grow and get better at, and he’s working on that every day.”
Odom’s doing his homework off the field as well. Throughout the offseason, he’s studied film of Washington’s offense last year, breaking down the play of early-round NFL draft selections Rome Odunze, JaLynn Polk and Jalen McMillan.
“I’ve watched the Oregon games like five times, watched the Oregon State game,” Odom said in May. “So I’ve definitely seen where I can see myself making the same plays that maybe Rome made, and I can definitely see myself being able to make an impact in the offense, for sure.”
Odom and Alabama will return to the practice field on Thursday and Friday before holding its second preseason scrimmage on Saturday. Perhaps, we’ll see an encore performance from the freshman in his return to Bryant-Denny Stadium.