Trajen Odom Quick to Schedule Oregon Visit Following Offer
Dan Lanning and the Oregon Ducks have been all over the country this month recruiting the next great wave of high school talent.
One of their latest offers earlier this month went out to 2025 Matthews (NC) Weddington defensive lineman Trajen Odom, who has been visited twice by the coaching staff. He spoke with Ducks Digest about the offer and the latest in his recruitment.
For Odom, Oregon has been one of the schools he's always hoped would come calling.
"Oregon's actually been one of the schools I really liked growing up," he said. "As a kid it was more because of the brand and the uniforms, but as I got older, I've actually started to understand Oregon more and watched the games. They've been a great team. So I was just really excited and just happy. It's a team I've just been waiting to hear from and they finally came around."
The 6-foot-5, 272-pound defensive lineman got to spend extensive time with head coach Dan Lanning when he and defensive backs coach Chris Hampton came to see him.
"That was a great time. We got to sit down. I'd say honestly like two hours or so. And we were just talking about not just football, but life and then his motivations, what Oregon can do for a player not just football-wise, but in the long term. The relationships you have, the people you meet. And then how Oregon is not just a football brand, but it's a brand that sets you up for success."
It's not often a recruit gets two hours of one-on-one time with a head coach and that's not lost on him.
"It was just a great," Odom said. It means a lot. It proves that Coach Lanning and then his staff, they want me and I'm a priority."
There's a lot that stands out to Odom about the Ducks, and his Oregon connection dates back to his childhood---specifically one of the best defensive linemen to come through Eugene in recent years.
"First let me start off with Arik Armstead. He's a very close family friend of my family. So he really got me into Oregon but as of now, I've just seen the people, the coaches they have, they develop great players and they've been on the grind to a winning team. And I've heard from other coaches and actually people in general Coach Lanning is the man."
Odom, who's originally from Inglewood, California, will take his first trip to Oregon on February 3. Before that, he'll head to Coral Gables to visit Miami this weekend.
He spoke on his interest in the Hurricanes, a team his father played against during his college days at Cal.
"I've watched them growing up. But recently, they used to be a great program but then they kind of like slacked off. But with Coach (Mario) Cristobal they kind of like amped it up and then Coach (Jason) Taylor and Coach (Joe) Salave'a, they've actually developed some great guys and they've had (a) freshman all American this past season."
Looking forward to the spring there are a handful of schools he'd also like to see.
"For spring ball I'm gonna try to do Ohio State and Georgia. Those are two major ones I want to take. And then USC for sure."
The North Carolina standout sees a fairly clear timeline for a commitment, with top schools likely coming in the next couple of months.
"Soon, hopefully it might be within a month or two I might have a top 8 or something. And then by June I should be committed."
Trajen Odom off the field
"I actually cook. So my main thing is cooking. Besides cooking I design clothes. That's what I do in my free time and I draw and do art. So those are like three major things I do in my free time."
