By Mike Vorel
The Seattle Times
What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.
Just not in college football recruiting.
Need proof? Look no further than Las Vegas Bishop Gorman High School wide receiver Rome Odunze, who opted to take his talents to Washington on Monday.
The 6-foot-3, 200-pound Odunze verbally committed to the Huskies over the likes of Oklahoma, Oregon, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, UCLA, Miami, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Stanford, USC and Utah. UW currently boasts 16 overall commits in 2020 and 12 offensive pledges.
No. 16 — Odunze — is ranked as a four-star prospect, the No. 30 wide receiver nationally and the No. 174 overall prospect in the 2020 class by 247Sports.
“He’s a good get. Obviously coupling him with Jalen McMillan is a pretty good 1-2 punch,” said 247Sports national recruiting editor Brandon Huffman on Monday. “He’s a long, lankier receiver. He’s a legit 6-2.5, 200 pounds. But he’s got some length to him. He’s pretty well put-together already. Good straight-line speed. He clocked a 4.5-40 at the opening regional in February on a pretty wet day. He had a pretty good shuttle at that as well, so he can move laterally. He’s pretty explosive.
“He’s a pretty good route-runner. He still needs to be a little bit crisper with the route-running, which for a lot of guys is a technique thing that they really focus on at the next level. He’s athletic. It’s going to be hard to press him and you’re not going to be able to jam him, so he’s going to have a lot of advantages just from a physical standpoint. He’s a pretty solid all-around receiver.”
Odunze showed that during his junior season at Bishop Gorman, where the rangy wideout piled up 60 catches, 1,347 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns, according to MaxPreps. He ran a 4.55 second 40-yard dash and posted a 33.8-inch vertical jump at the aforementioned February recruiting camp, per 247Sports.
“Last year was really his coming-out party,” Huffman said. “They had three guys go to Power Five schools that were receivers, so it was really his first chance to be the guy. I thought he had a really good season and figures to do the same this year.”
Odunze is the third wide receiver commit in the Huskies’ 2020 class, joining four-star prospect Jalen McMillan and three-star in-state standout Sawyer Racanelli. Odunze is also UW’s eighth four-star wide receiver commit in its past four classes, according to the 247Sports composite. UW failed to sign a four-star receiver in Chris Petersen’s first three classes on campus, but has since turned the tide.
And in the current calendar year, at least, first-year wide receivers coach Junior Adams has been a primary reason why.
“I think Junior’s there for the long haul, and you’re seeing recruiting as a result of that really improving — with the way they closed in 2019 and they way they’ve started in 2020,” Huffman said. “I think that’s the Junior Adams effect right there.”
But what will the Rome Odunze effect ultimately be at Washington? The answer is unavailable, but the possibilities are certainly promising.
“Lean frame with length and strong build,” wrote 247Sports recruiting analyst Blair Angulo in his evaluation of Odunze. “Room to add mass without losing flexibility. Stellar straight-line speed. Physicality to gain separation at the line of scrimmage. Smooth route runner, although needs some refinement in getting out of breaks. Athleticism to go up for the football in traffic. Good body control and fluidity to make defenders miss in space. Threat to stretch the field and get behind the secondary.
“Could improve as a natural pass-catcher and being more consistent over the middle. Potential multi-year starter at the Power Five level and all-conference type performer.”
At the end of his commitment tweet on Monday, Odunze added an easily translatable hashtag:
“#NattyOTW”
National championship on the way
There’s plenty left to prove, but Washington’s newest commit clearly knows just what to say.
