Jason Odom
{{Short description|American football player (born 1974)}}
{{Use American English|date=September 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name = Jason Odom
| number = 70
| position = Offensive tackle
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1974|3|31|mf=y}}
| birth_place = Winter Haven, Florida, U.S.
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 5
| weight_lb = 307
| high_school = Bartow {{nowrap|(Bartow, Florida)}}
| college = Florida
| draftyear = 1996
| draftround = 4
| draftpick = 96
| pastteams =
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers ({{NFL Year|1996|2000}})
| highlights =
- Unanimous All-American (1995)
- Third-team All-American (1994)
- 2× Jacobs Blocking Trophy (1994, 1995)
- 2× First-team All-SEC (1994, 1995)
- Second-team All-SEC (1993)
- University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame
| statlabel1 = Games played
| statvalue1 = 46
| statlabel2 = Games started
| statvalue2 = 41
| statlabel3 = Fumble recoveries
| statvalue3 = 1
| pfr = OdomJa20
}}
Jason Brian Odom (born March 31, 1974) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle for four seasons in the National Football League (NFL) during the 1990s. Odom played college football for the Florida Gators, earning unanimous All-American honors in 1995. He played professionally for the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Early life
Odom was born in Winter Haven, Florida in 1974.{{Cite web|title=Jason Odom Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/O/OdomJa20.htm|access-date=2023-02-18|website=Pro-Football-Reference.com|language=en}} He attended Bartow High School in Bartow, Florida,{{Cite web |url=http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=ODOMJAS01 |title=Jason Odom |website=databaseFootball.com |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100218082350/http://databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=ODOMJAS01 |archive-date=February 18, 2010 }}
College career
Odom accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he was an offensive lineman for coach Steve Spurrier's Florida Gators football team from 1992 to 1995.[http://web.gatorzone.com/football/media/2011/media_guide.pdf 2011 Florida Gators Football Media Guide] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402035222/http://web.gatorzone.com/football/media/2011/media_guide.pdf |date=April 2, 2012 }}, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 88, 93, 97, 102, 125, 184 (2011). Retrieved August 31, 2011. Odom was a four-year starter, a senior team captain in 1995, a first-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) selection in 1994 and 1995, and a unanimous first-team All-American in 1995.2012 NCAA Football Records Book, [http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/2012/Awards.pdf Award Winners], National Collegiate Athletic Association, Indianapolis, Indiana, pp. 10 & 14 (2012). Retrieved September 14, 2012. In his four years as a Gator, the team won three consecutive SEC championships (1993, 1994, 1995), and played for a Bowl Alliance national championship in the 1996 Fiesta Bowl. He was also the recipient of the SEC's Jacobs Blocking Trophy, recognizing the best blocker in the SEC, in 1994 and 1995.
Odom graduated from Florida with a bachelor's degree in exercise and sports science in 1996. In one of a series of articles written for The Gainesville Sun in 2006, the newspaper's sports editors selected him as No. 28 of the top 100 Gators from the first 100 years of Florida football.Robbie Andreu & Pat Dooley, "[http://www.gainesville.com/article/20060806/GATORS70/60802012 No. 28 Jason Odom] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140905081104/http://www.gainesville.com/article/20060806/GATORS70/60802012 |date=September 5, 2014 }}," The Gainesville Sun (August 6, 2006). Retrieved April 1, 2013. He was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 2010.{{Cite web|title=Gator Greats - Gator F Club, Inc.|url=https://gatorfclub.org/hall-of-fame/greats|access-date=2023-02-18|website=gatorfclub.org}}"[http://www.gatorzone.com/story.php?id=16714 Eight Former Letterwinners Announced to be Hall of Fame Inductees] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121004070851/http://www.gatorzone.com/story.php?id=16714 |date=October 4, 2012 }}," GatorZone.com (October 15, 2009). Retrieved July 22, 2011.
Professional career
Odom was chosen in the fourth round (ninety-sixth pick overall) of the 1996 NFL draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.{{Cite web |title=1996 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1996/draft.htm |access-date=2023-03-30 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}} He played offensive tackle for the Buccaneers for four seasons from {{NFL Year|1996}} to {{NFL Year|1999}}. He started forty-one of the forty-six Buccaneers games in which he played.{{Cite web |url=http://www.nfl.com/players/jasonodom/profile?id=ODO140560 |title=All Time Players, Jason Odom |date=2008 |website=National Football League |access-date= June 6, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080410195908/http://www.nfl.com/players/jasonodom/profile?id=ODO140560 |archive-date=April 10, 2008}} He was placed on injured reserve on August 27, 2000, ending his career.{{Cite web |url=https://www.buccaneers.com/news/odom-s-nfl-career-comes-to-an-end-2183009 |title=Odom's NFL Career Comes to an End |date= January 29, 2001 |website=Tampa Bay Buccaneers |access-date=February 18, 2023}}
Life after football
Odom has served as a Hillsborough County Sheriff's Deputy in Tampa, Florida since 2008.Thomas W. Krause, "Ex-Buc, Veteran Become Deputies", The Tampa Tribune, Metro Section, p. 5 (July 12, 2008).
See also
{{Portal|American football|Biography|College football}}
- 1995 College Football All-America Team
- Florida Gators football
- History of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- List of Florida Gators football All-Americans
- List of Florida Gators in the NFL draft
- List of SEC Jacobs Blocking Trophy winners
- List of University of Florida alumni
- University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame
References
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}
Bibliography
- Carlson, Norm, University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators, Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). {{ISBN|0-7948-2298-3}}.
- Golenbock, Peter, Go Gators! An Oral History of Florida's Pursuit of Gridiron Glory, Legends Publishing, LLC, St. Petersburg, Florida (2002). {{ISBN|0-9650782-1-3}}.
- Hairston, Jack, Tales from the Gator Swamp: A Collection of the Greatest Gator Stories Ever Told, Sports Publishing, LLC, Champaign, Illinois (2002). {{ISBN|1-58261-514-4}}.
- McCarthy, Kevin M., [https://books.google.com/books?id=_Tk-IQepI6cC Fightin' Gators: A History of University of Florida Football], Arcadia Publishing, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina (2000). {{ISBN|978-0-7385-0559-6}}.
- Nash, Noel, ed., The Gainesville Sun Presents The Greatest Moments in Florida Gators Football, Sports Publishing, Inc., Champaign, Illinois (1998). {{ISBN|1-57167-196-X}}.
{{1995 NCAA Division I-A College Football Consensus All-Americans}}
{{Buccaneers1996DraftPicks}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Odom, Jason}}
Category:Sportspeople from Winter Haven, Florida
Category:Players of American football from Polk County, Florida
Category:American football offensive tackles
Category:Bartow High School alumni
Category:Florida Gators football players