Odom goes all out for Hokies

By Dave Fawcett

Published: August 14, 2008

BLACKSBURG — Quillie Odom had no intention of easing into his first-ever practice as a Virginia Tech football player.
The three stitches Odom received in his upper lip following a collision with a teammate attests to that.
Even though the players wore no pads and contact was at a minimum when the Hokies opened up Aug. 4 for a late afternoon session, the Osbourn Park High School graduate was at full throttle when his face mask smacked into the face mask of an offensive lineman.
The hit forced Odom to miss about 15 minutes of practice, but once the trainers sewed his lip up, he was back out on the field, ready to go again.
“I’m the type of guy who likes to get out there and get involved,” Odom said.
The Hokies are counting on Odom’s aggressive style of play at linebacker to help them this season.
Virginia Tech’s defense graduated seven starters, including all but one linebacker, leaving untested players like Odom with ample opportunity to play right away.
Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster said Odom is a cross between Xavier Adibi, a starting linebacker last season who was a 2008 fourth-round pick by the Houston Texans in the NFL Draft, and Jamel Smith, a three-year starting linebacker who is now a graduate assistant for the football team.
“That’s the ideal thing if you can get that is to have someone who has size, speed and have that nasty streak to him and I think he’s got that,” Foster said.
Odom’s work ethic and maturity improved a great deal playing a year for the postgraduate football team at Hargrave Military Academy. Odom faced Division I talent all the time while also playing against Division I junior varsity teams like Tennessee and Marshall.
“Hargrave doesn’t have freshmen,” said the school’s head football coach, Robert Prunty said. “You come to Hargrave, you are not a freshman anymore.”
Odom finished the season ranked as the No. 5 prep school player in the country by Rivals.com and drew comparisons by Prunty to another Hargrave linebacker, Ahmad Brooks, a Hylton graduate who went on to play at the University of Virginia and now is with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Prunty is so high on Odom that he believes he has a possible future in the NFL, saying he reminds him of former Hargrave players like defensive back D.J. Parker, wide receiver Justin Harper and defensive back Brandon Flowers who went on to Virginia Tech and were either selected in the April NFL Draft or signed as an undrafted free agent. 
“He has the talent,” Prunty said. “But the thing about him is that he wants to get better and he loves playing for Bud Foster. He’s totally committed and that’s half the battle. He bleeds that Hokie blue-collar attitude.”
Odom first committed to Virginia Tech at the end of his junior year at Osbourn Park. Although attending Hargrave freed Odom up to sign with another college if he so desired, Odom had no doubt where he was headed once signing day came last February.
“Tech was always my school,” Odom said.
Red-shirt seniors Brett Warren and Purnell Sturdivant are slated to start at inside linebacker for the Hokies this season, but Odom is getting plenty of attention. And that first-day collision at practice provided a glimpse into what Odom can do. 
“He was a buzz saw,” Foster said. “I liked that.”
But while Odom has the skills to develop into a top-flight player, Foster is also realistic about his freshman linebacker, knowing Odom has to adjust to the Hokies’ system and become more physically adept at making plays.
All of which is fine with Odom.  He’s been waiting a long time to play for the Hokies.
As long as he’s out on the field and in position to go full speed after an opposing player, he’s content.
“I want to get after it as soon as possible,” Odom said. “I’ve been wanting this before Hargrave.”