Arkansas Fans Jump at Another Dramatic Conspiracy
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Leave it to Arkansas fans to take a mundane mention and try to turn it into another round of coaching drama.
Trey Biddy of 247 dropped a mildly interesting note that Garyt Odom, son of former Arkansas defensive coordinator Barry Odom, has returned to Northwest Arkansas and is enrolled at Fayetteville High School. Honestly, there's not a whole lot there, but that didn't keep Arkansas fans from writing the most dramatic of telenovelas between the lines.
Suddenly several Razorbacks faithful have this as a sign that smoke will soon rise out of a chimney at Old Main to signal the start of a new coaching regime at Arkansas following the upcoming season. Current head coach Sam Pittman has already decided to retire in their minds and will quietly disappear to Hot Springs while Odom swoops in from Las Vegas fresh off a magical season in the desert to take Arkansas to the promised land.
It's quite the conspiracy theory, which is a specialty among Hogs fans these days. After all, in the span of just a few months, the state of Arkansas has declared offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino as having ridden in on a Harley to overthrow Pittman and seize the reigns mid-season followed by a return to greatness, has landed Eric Musselman at about 20 jobs at this point and generated a long list of conspiracies involving players that are too disgusting to mention.
Not to spoil anyone's fun with rational thought, but perhaps examine this family move that is quite frankly no one's business outside of the Odom family through the lens of a father. Dads don't like to make major job moves when their children are in high school.
In Odom's case, it was a necessary one. It was time to get back in the saddle and things were getting a little uncomfortable at Arkansas with how the defense was performing.
The family did what football families do. Garyt left all his high school friends and teammates at Shiloh Christian and reportedly transferred to Faith Lutheran in Las Vegas where he's solidified his status as a solid quarterback recruit.
However, and stick with me now, what if instead of sending his son back to plant a seed in Northwest Arkansas to facilitate his return as the overthrower of his former friend and boss, he simply felt bad about uprooting his son and wants him to get to spend his senior year around all his old friends in the relatively save confines of Fayetteville. Perhaps he took a moment to imagine his son spending his final two years of development as a young man before being thrown into the world of college athletics in a place called "Sin City," and thought an opportunity to spend the most unpredictable year and a half of a young man's high school life in a more docile environment might be the favorable choice.
Of course, there's also the idea of creating a win-win. If Odom intends to bring his son on as UNLV's quarterback of the future, why not beyond putting him into a relatively safe environment, also place him under the guidance of Fayetteville coach Casey Dick. After all, he did just produce Drake Lindsey, an elite Power Four quarterback prospect who recently signed with Minnesota.
Odom watched both up close and afar as Dick crafted Lindsey into a quarterback Odom would have loved to have at UNLV. It seems reasonable for a caring father to let his son be among friends while also getting coached up in a good program.
But, then again, maybe he's coming back to Arkansas as the next head coach and wants his son already nearby so he can easily start getting ready to be the next Razorbacks quarterback. It's already been arranged by Hunter Yurachek and several boosters as part of a four-year contract complete with a house on Lake Fayetteville, custom Hog statues and part ownership in the local Cane's and Slim Chickens.
Most likely he's just being a good dad, but, you know. Conspiracies. They're more fun.
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