Carrollton (Ga.) Top247 tight end
Caleb Odom spent the last two days in South Florida checking out Miami and the visit has had a huge impact on him.
The No. 5 tight end in the country wanted to check out the Hurricanes because of how hard Cody Woodiel is recruiting him.
“It was amazing. It was really important for me to get down here with Coach Woodiel taking the new job. I had a great time. I got to spend a lot of time with him. It really felt like a family, honestly. I’m trying to get down soon with my mom, hopefully,” Odom told InsideTheU.
Woodiel has been running point on the recruitment and has played a huge role in Miami’s pursuit of the No. 68 overall player.
“Today I got to watch practice and [Woodiel] seems like a guy who gets after them. He wants the best for the tight ends and his players. He’s a big family guy. He seems like a cool guy and that’s really helped our relationship a lot. I really want to get back up here for sure,” Odom said.
Miami was already a school that the 6-foot-5, 205-pounder was strongly considering. They’re in his recent top 12 that featured a number of schools in Ole Miss, Penn State, Georgia, LSU, Tennessee, Michigan, Virginia Tech, Alabama, Colorado, Georgia Tech, and Texas A&M.
But Miami has found themselves in the better half of that large group after a few days in Coral Gables.
“It definitely helped them. I needed to get up here, but now that I’m seeing the campus, the city. It’s not really in Miami - it’s Coral Gables. Now that I’m seeing all of it, it’s changed my mind.”
“It’s a different kind of vibe here that I can’t even really explain. [Mario] Cristobal, he’s even a really cool guy. He was smiling, he really welcomed me and my coach with welcomed arms.”
Odom will take it slow for the next few weeks outside of a trip to nearby Georgia Tech.
“I’m honestly going to chill for the next two weeks - not take any visits. But then I’ll be back at LSU April 25 or 26,” Odom said.
Colorado is the only school who has locked in an official visit with Odom. That’s set for the weekend of June 15.
“I’m definitely going to set one [to Miami] now. It’s great,” Odom said.
Of the schools in that top 12, Ole Miss is one that’s also standing out and that’s because Lane Kiffin is recruiting him to play wide receiver and Odom likes the sound of that.
“That sticks out to me. When I got down there, knowing Coach Kiffin and his track record of what he’s done with Elijah [Moore], DK Metcalf, all them.”
Michigan, Georgia Tech, and Tennessee are a few more Odom singled out.
As a junior, Odom brought in 64 passes for 1121 yards with 13 scores for a program that played in the state title game in Georgia’s highest classification.
