Football is a family affair for Odom brothers at UNLV
Brad Odom was in three places at once Saturday.
UNLV football’s player personnel director and older brother of Rebels coach Barry Odom found himself sitting in a set of bleachers in Las Vegas supporting his softball star daughter, Bradi, while he watched his other children through screens.
His phone displayed his son Broderic, who was coaching East Central University’s linebackers against Arkansas Tech. Odom’s other hand held a tablet dedicated to his son Bo, who was playing defensive back for Emporia State (Kansas) as it took on Fort Hays State (Kansas).
It’s how he used the bye week, a brief non-break from the never-ending demands of recruiting.
He couldn’t hide his multitasking as Bradi, a Palo Verde High senior, aided the Lil Rebels club team’s 5-0 sweep of the Surf City PGF Showcase.
“Everybody knew what I was doing, and they left me alone and let me do it. And that was awesome, that I got a chance to see my kids, maybe not all in person,” Odom said.
You don’t have to look far for another example of the demands of football success. Barry Odom used his extra time last weekend to fly to Arkansas and watch his son Garyt on the field for Fayetteville High’s senior night.
And when UNLV plays Saturday at Hawaii, Brad will be missing Bo’s senior day.
Sacrifices
While Barry Odom knows it’s strange that he had to catch a flight to watch one of his two sons play a high school game, he views it as a sacrifice made in the best interest of his family.
In the wake of Barry leaving as defensive coordinator at Arkansas to take the UNLV job in December 2022, Garyt gave Las Vegas a chance. He decided it wasn’t where he wanted to be.
Oldest son JT, meanwhile, is on the UNLV team as a freshman linebacker, living with Barry, his wife, Tia, and their 9-year-old daughter, Anna.
“He really didn’t want to move,” Barry said of Garyt. “I said, ‘We’re going as a family.’ And we did. We said to him, ‘Let’s go give it a shot. And if you still think you would like to graduate with your buddies, we’ll talk about it after we’ve been there a year,’ never thinking we would have to have that conversation again. But we did.”
Garyt lives with family in the area, which helped the decision “make great sense,” Barry said. But he conceded that the distance from one of his children has been difficult.
“For me, I go pack my office up and leave,” Barry said. “Obviously, (for my family) they’re leaving relationships, school, continuity. So as a family, we thought it was the best thing for (Garyt). … It’s been hard, but it’s worked out great.”
Barry and Tia have been married for 24 years. Barry’s career has taken him from coaching at Ada High School in Oklahoma, his alma mater, to Missouri, Memphis, Arkansas and now Las Vegas. Tia has been there for every stop.
Brad and his wife, Tammy, will celebrate their 30-year anniversary next summer. She will travel to Kansas to support Bo while Brad is in Hawaii.
“She knows what it takes, the time it takes,” Brad said. “If you don’t have that good support system at home, it makes it really hard.”
Football family tree
Many leaves of the Odom family tree are connected to football, a result of a deep-rooted love for sports.
Brad is the oldest of three brothers raised by football coach Bob and school principal Cheryl in Maysville, Oklahoma. The youngest sibling, Brian, is the linebackers coach at the University of North Texas. He and his wife, Mackenzie, have two sons, Benjamin and Brock.
Brad doesn’t quite understand how all three brothers ended up sticking with careers in football, but he knows how it started.
His graduating class from Ada High had 28 kids, and the Odom brothers were participants in every sport available. They went from track to basketball and football season with ease. There was a basketball hoop on the side of their home, and a baseball diamond in their front yard.
“That’s all we knew,” Brad said. “I don’t think I would have gone to college if I hadn’t played football. I just know that our parents placed a lot of importance on the values that it taught, the discipline and accountability.”
Brad joined Barry at UNLV in May 2023 after spending 16 months developing players at Ada High.
Bradi was a junior in high school at the time, and his three other sons were out of the house. Brad’s oldest son, Baron, also played college football. Tammy pushed Brad to take advantage of their nearly empty nest and chase his dream.
“I think I bugged (Barry) to death about it, and he finally was like, ‘OK, maybe he’ll be OK,’’’ Brad said.
Contact Callie Fin at cfin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @CallieJLaw on X