Rome Odunze Should Take Dead Aim at Rewriting Reggie
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As University of Washington football player after player announced his 2023 return, each cited unfinished business as a reason.
They alluded to improving on an 11-2 record and making a run at a Pac-12 championship and maybe even a College Football Playoff berth.
Yet Rome Odunze had further incentive for getting back on board for another trip through the amateur ranks — rewriting Reggie.
If the Huskies are to win more football games this coming season, they'll no doubt need to fire up their passing-minded offense even more, which means getting added production out of their anointed No. 1 wide receiver, all of which leads to breaking Reggie Williams' pair of school receiving records, once thought to be insurmountable.
The UW's all-time leading pass-catcher, who spent five years with the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars before substance-abuse issues prematurely ended his football career, owns the following school standards: 94 receptions for 1,454 yards over 13 games in 2002.
If Yankees slugger Reggie Jackson was Mr. October, the Huskies' pass-grabbing Reggie was Mr. September, October and December.
Appearing in a dozen games last fall after missing one because of an injury, Odunze stacked up 75 catches for 1,145 yards, ranking him fifth and third, respectively, in school history in those stat categories.
ROME WASN'T BUILT IN A DAY
Before last season began, offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb didn't hesitate at all to name Odunze as the Huskies' foremost deep threat before all of the receiving numbers began turning over like a winning slot machine.
"Yes, Rome," Grubb said when asked to pick out his most dangerous receiver. "I think Jalen McMillan can do the same thing at any one point, but I think Rome is that guy."
Some might argue the current UW receiving corps is far too deep and talented for the 6-foot-3, 201-pound Odunze to significantly increase his 2022 totals after sharing the load last season with McMillan (79 catches for 1,098 yards) and Ja'Lynn Polk (41 catches for 694 yards).
Yet the 6-foot-4, 212-pound Williams also had to share the ball back in 2002, with productive teammates in Patrick Reddick (54 catches for 583 yards) and Charles Frederick (48 for 651 yards) chipping in hefty contributions.
In contrasting the two Husky receiving corps and their numbers, Odunze's group had 195 catches and 2,937 yards collectively in 2022 to Reggie and Company coming in with 193 grabs and 2,688 yards 20 years earlier.
Now when addressing receiving touchdowns, that's a whole different conversation. It doesn't involve Williams and likely not Odunze.
The top four UW pass-catching scorers in school history are Mario Bailey (18 touchdowns, 1991), John Ross (17, 2016), Dante Pettis (15, 2016) and Jerome Kearse (12, 2010).
Williams' best season was 11 TD catches in 2002, with Odunze collecting 7 scores last fall, an effort surpassed by McMillan's 9.
Still, it's something for Odunze, if not McMillan, to shoot for.
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