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Barry Odom, instrumental in Mizzou’s success on defense this season as the SEC’s overall leader in tackles for losses as a unit, is one of college football’s top assistants on the rise, according to Athlon Sports.
“After three years calling the defensive signals at Memphis, Odom returned to a familiar place: Missouri. The Oklahoma native played with the Tigers from 1996-99 and later coached under Gary Pinkel in Columbia from 2003-11. Memphis showed dramatic improvement under Odom and limited opponents to 19.5 points per game in 2014. So far, Odom has picked up where former coordinator Dave Steckel left off, as the Tigers lead the SEC in scoring defense (13.5), rank third in sacks (17) and are giving up just 4.1 yards per play.”
Before returning to Mizzou this year, Odom spent three seasons as Memphis’s defensive coordinator. At Memphis, he inherited a defense that had been ranked 117th in FBS total defense in 2011. In 2012, Odom’s first season, the Tigers improved to 51st in total defense, and improved to 39th in 2013 and 29th in 2014. The 2014 Memphis defense finished 12th in yards allowed per-play.
Mizzou’s defensive line has 12 sacks in the first six games. Freshman defensive lineman Walter Brady has six sacks and 8.5 tackles for loss, while sophomore Charles Harris has four sacks and 11.5 tackles for loss. Linebacker Kentrell Brothers is the Tigers’ leading tackler, with 74 stops, an average of 12.3 per game.
Mizzou travels to Georgia on Saturday.
