Gators signee Jonathan Odom is ready to go to work with Tim Brewster
Dan Mullen experienced a shakeup in his staff this month with the announcement that Larry Scott was set to become the next head football coach at Howard University.
He was recently a candidate for the USF coaching vacancy and, given his impressive resume, it was not too much of a surprise that another opportunity presented itself for him less than a couple of months later.
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To Florida's credit, the program acted swiftly and will add former North Carolina assistant Tim Brewster to become their new tight ends coach, though no official announcement has been made yet by the program.
For UF signee Jonathan Odom, it was difficult for him to learn about the departure as Scott was not only his position coach, but his area recruiter as well.
Odom, who hails from Tampa (Fla.), spoke with GatorsTerritory about what has recently transpired, and mentioned that Scott was actually the primary reason he committed to Florida in the first place.
"I'd probably say 60 percent," Odom said when asked how much Scott factored into his decision. "Obviously, I know the rule: You don't commit to the coach, you commit to the school. Ultimately, that's what I did. But, obviously, you want to find a coach that you like.
"It was definitely a really out-of-the-blue thing when he called me that night before it went out. But, you know, I'm happy for him. He did play a big role in my recruiting... everyone was kind of upset by it because he's a great guy. We love coach Scott, but we were also really happen for him."
Following that conversation with Scott a couple of weeks ago, Odom hopped on the phone with Mullen and talked about the situation with his family as well. Odom didn't, however, get to point where he questioned if Florida was still the best place for him with Scott now out of the picture.
Instead, the top-15 TE in the 2020 class says he's looking forward to making the move to Gainesville in a few months and putting in the work with Brewster.
"When I committed, almost a whole year ago now, it was definitely the right decision and I stood by that and I still think that is the right decision to this day," Odom said. "Obviously, when that happened, it was such a shock to me... it happens. I can't wait to work with coach Brewster and I wish the best for coach Scott. I'll always thank him and love him as a coach."
Although he has yet to speak with Brewster, Odom is certainly familiar with his future position coach. Brewster was actually in pursuit of the 6-foot-6, 230-pounder early in the 2020 cycle to try and get him on board with the Tar Heels.
Odom is impressed with his experience in the NFL as Brewster was a tight ends coach for the San Diego Chargers (2002-2004) and Denver Broncos (2005-2006).
"I like him," Odom said. "He got there [to North Carolina] and they already had two tight ends committed that he didn't recruit, and he was trying to recruit me to go there. We already had a relationship prior to him coming to Florida.
"He's definitely a really seasoned guy," Odom added. "When he was recruiting me, he was kind of telling me about his experience coaching tight ends in the league and also in college. He knows his stuff. He's a really smart guy and I think that he can help a lot, especially improve my game as well."
It won't be long until Odom packs up his bags and arrives on UF's campus as he is set to begin Summer A classes in roughly three months.
Odom, whose father, Jason, donned the Orange and Blue in the 1990s, is licking his chops at the opportunity to make an impact with the Gators next season.
"I'm scheduled to report on May 4 now, actually," Odom said. "I'm just excited. I've been doing the workout program they gave me. I'm just ready to get there and work. Get stronger and be prepared for this upcoming season. Help anyway I can. Basically be a sponge with all the information I'm going to learn from Kyle [Pitts] and all the veteran guys up there."
Stay tuned to GatorsTerritory.