CONWAY -- Senior outside linebacker George Odum leads the University of Central Arkansas in tackles, automobile and smartphone repairs, and -- much to his current dismay -- ownership of German Shepherd puppies.
Once he graduates, Odum said he is unsure what he will do next, though his options might include graduate work in mechanical engineering or a professional career as either an auto mechanic or a football player. The only thing he sounds absolutely certain of is that dog breeding is not for him, at least not until he no longer has to answer to an apartment manager.
"I have to sell these dogs," Odum said.
UCA Coach Steve Campbell smiles at the seemingly endless routes to success available for Odum.
"George can do a lot of different things," Campbell said. "He covers kicks. He plays defense, covers people, tackles, fixes cars, radiators, cell phones, breeds dogs. He is a renaissance man.
"I'll say this about George. He definitely has his head on straight. He's doing a great job of preparing himself for life after football, and he loves football. You can tell by the way he plays it."
NFL scouts routinely question Campbell and UCA defensive coordinator Greg Stewart about Odum, though most question where he would fit in at the professional level.
At 6-2 and 187 pounds, Odum is smaller than a typical NFL linebacker. In UCA's scheme, he is designated as a rover, as he is likely to dash for tackles behind the line of scrimmage as to cover receivers on pass routes.
"Whatever George puts his mind to, he doesn't like to come up short," Campbell said. "He's going to piddle with it until he figures it out. George takes whatever situation arises and makes the best of it. He's good to go with a football career or without a football career. He's going to be successful with whatever he does."
An example of Odum's football prowess came against McNeese State in UCA's 47-17 victory at Estes Stadium in Conway last Saturday.
UCA led 9-7 late in the first quarter. McNeese State faced third and 9 at midfield. Junior quarterback James Tabary watched as the side of the field nearest his team's bench appeared to clear. It looked as if there was an empty path to a first down, but in what seemed like an instant, Odum appeared from the crowd on the opposite side and sacked Tabary for a 7-yard loss.
"My coach had already told me that he was slow," Odum said. "I wasn't worried about his running. I really wasn't even supposed to be on him. I was supposed to go to the running back, but the running back was just blocking, so that freed me up."
"George knows to watch the back, and if that back blocks, he'll go get the quarterback," Campbell said. "It's hard to play great defense without guys like George out there for you."
Odum completed the game with a career-high 16 tackles, including 10 solo stops. Odum has 80 tackles on the season.
"George is our eraser," Campbell said. "He erases things that other people might have been out of position for. Great defenses have erasers, and George is definitely ours."
As Odum sat in an office of an assistant coach, he sounded convincingly unconcerned about his future in football beyond this season.
"I feel like if it's going to come, it's going to come," Odum said. "I'm just trying to make a lot of money no matter what. I buy and sell cars. I'm selling these dogs. I fix phones. I work at Home Depot, so I have a lot of stuff going on right now."
UCA (7-1, 6-0 Southland Conference), ranked No. 4 in the NCAA FCS Coaches Poll, will put its seven-game winning streak on the line today against Lamar at Provost Umphrey Stadium in Beaumont, Texas. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:10 p.m.
Odum said he was not yet familiar with Lamar. Though a hallmark of many outstanding players, time spent watching game tapes is not Odum's first choice.
"To be honest, I'm a busy person," Odum said. "I don't watch a lot of film. I mean, I will, but from 9 in the morning until almost 1 o'clock at night, I'm always doing something."
"He's a throwback," Campbell said. "George is a guy who does whatever you ask him to do. Now days, with so much specialization, he's a football player in the sense that he's a throwback. You can ask him to do a lot of different things."
Odum is a football player who fixes cars and smartphones and has an apartment full of purebred puppies he said he will let go for cheap.
"My apartment complex wants me to get rid of them faster and faster," Odum said. "When I get a house with a backyard, I won't mind selling dogs, but right now, it's too much."
Sports on 11/04/2017