'Little Victories' Lift Gators TE Jonathan Odom to Starting Role After Injury
Photo: Jonathan Odom; Credit: Zach Goodall
Although Florida's offense struggled mightily in a 24-11 loss to Utah to open the season, Gators tight end Jonathan Odom was able to pull a personal victory from the game.
Against the Utes, he led all UF tight ends with four catches for 46 yards and was the team's second-leading pass catcher. But it was the fact that he was even on the field to begin with that provided him a sense of pride.
"The game itself I was not happy with," he said. "The small victory, and that personally for me, was that I proved to myself that I can play. But as a team and as a competitor on the field at the University of Florida, I felt that was unacceptable."
A little over eight months ago in the Gators' 30-3 loss to Oregon State in the Las Vegas Bowl, Odom suffered a torn ACL, placing the start to his 2023 campaign in jeopardy.
"God bless if it had to happen at some point, it happened, you know, [at the] very end of the season," Odom said on Wednesday evening. "So, it gave me a light at the end of the tunnel that ‘Hey, there's an opportunity for me if I work hard enough to where I can get back to the first game.”
And now, with an injury to freshman Tony Livingston, who was listed as a first-teamer against Utah, Odom is set to make his first start of the season in Week 2 against McNeese State, according to the Gators' most recent depth chart.
"This guy has been on one heck of a journey," said Gators' coach Billy Napier on Wednesday. "So to be back and provide some steadiness in the room with some young players is a positive. But Odom’s a smart player and he provides some stability there with a young group.”
Odom had just begun to come into his own when he suffered his injury in Las Vegas. He caught seven passes for 69 yards and two scores over the final three games of the 2022 season and looked to be a reliable short-yardage, red-zone option for former UF quarterback Anthony Richardson.
It felt like the world began to crash down upon him at Allegiant Stadium, he said. However, that feeling ended in the tunnel when he saw his parents, and their support helped carry him through his recovery.
"When something like that happens, you don't want anybody else around you besides the people you grew up with in your family, because those moments are really tough," he said. "Unfortunately, I've had to experience a few of them, but when you go through that, you don't want anyone else there besides your family, because they always seem to have the right things to say."
Odom specifically credits his father, Jason Odom, a former Gators offensive lineman and member of the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame, for his guidance as he was able to share in the experience. In fact, Odom said he wasn't allowed to play tackle football until high school because of injury concerns.
"Yeah, he’s a really good — to have someone like that in your corner who's been at the highest level, done it here, did it Tampa Bay, and also experienced all the injuries," he said. "So, even since, I wasn't allowed to play tackle football until I was in high school, just because of what he experienced with injuries."
Florida tight end Jonathan Odom during 2023 fall training camp.
Zach Goodall
Odom revealed that he never had a set recovery time, which made him work harder in order to return to the field as quickly as possible. As he put it, a day of rehab missed added one more day to his recovery.
So, relying on support from his parents and finding the little victories, much like he did amid Saturday's loss, were just as crucial as the physical rehab.
"Little victories were the most important thing I felt. I can walk now, or I can get my knee past 90 degrees," he explained. "Those little victories were a big part, and [Jason] helped me kind of realize that. Taking it step by step, day by day, victory by victory. It makes the total time shorten down.”
Those little victories added up and worked out for the fifth-year junior, allowing him to run out of the tunnel ahead of the Gators' home opener.
“I think that'll be a full circle moment. Like, I made it, you know, running out of The Swamp again. I get tingles everywhere," he said. "No matter how many times you do it, no matter who you're playing. Every time it's an absolute blessing, especially from the predicament that I was in, for me to be able to do that again in our first home opener.”
But there remains work to be done from Odom's perspective — both as an individual player and as a team. He's still regaining strength in his knee and hopes to remove the protective brace soon.
Florida's need for improvement goes without saying after the Salt Lake City debacle. On Wednesday, the team experienced what Napier described as a "tough practice," one in which Odom shed light on.
"Tuesdays and Wednesdays feel like a fall camp practice," Odom suggested. "We’re 17 periods and we’re going at it, it gets thick out there.
"I think those are the times we develop an identity as a team, and we give examples of toughness, and leaders step up. Those Tuesday and Wednesday practices are the practices that we need to emulate for the game, that’s how the game's going to be."
Such toughness and leadership will be needed for the young Gators to have success this season, and the season-opening loss to Utah created a sense of anger to push the team harder, Odom explained.
"No one here likes to lose. I can attest that firsthand," Odom said. "And when you get another opportunity, especially out in The Swamp, that fire is in you on every play. Defending The Swamp and wanting that feeling of losing driving you to win from that point on.”
Odom and the Gators will have that defend The Swamp, and earn their first win, against McNeese on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Stay tuned to All Gators for continuous coverage of Florida Gators football, basketball and recruiting. Follow along on social media at @AllGatorsOnFN on Twitter and All Gators on FanNation-Sports Illustrated on Facebook.
Get your Gators football, basketball, baseball and other sporting events tickets from SI Tickets here.
