Phazahn Odom is a six-foot-eight-inch, 245 pound tight end out of Barnwell, South Carolina. He was sidelined during his freshman season due to an injury and played backup to Dan Light in his sophomore and junior years, but this year he is atop the depth chart at the tight end position. He amassed 90-yds in the first game of the season against Army West Point.
The Fordham Ram: When did you start playing football?
Phazahn Odom: I started playing football my junior year of high school. I was always a basketball guy, and [the new head football coach at my high school] saw me and really wanted me to play, and it was something I was interested in doing.
TFR: Were you always a tight end?
PO: In high school, I was a wide receiver my junior year. Then my senior year I was kind of doing tight end and wide receiver, and when I got here I just became a tight end.
TFR: What made you want to come to Fordham?
PO: It was the first school that really saw anything in me, because since I started playing late, a lot of schools got to me late, and once I met coach Moorhead I really bought into his philosophy. The campus is lovely; it’s a great school.
TFR: How difficult was it for you to sit out your first season due to injury?
PO: It was very difficult just because I felt like I had the chance to get a lot of playing time that year. To just sit out your first year in college is not the [most fun] thing, but it gave me an extra year, so although it sucked then, it benefits me now.
TFR: What was it like playing with Dan Light the past two seasons?
PO: Dan Light’s a great guy. Just starting to play football my junior year I didn’t have that savviness and that much knowledge of the game, but he’s a guy who knows so much about football, and playing under him and learning from him helped me out a lot.
TFR: The team went 6-5 in your freshman season. Did you guys have the feeling that you were going to turn the program around and have as much success as you’ve had the past couple of seasons this quickly?
PO: Definitely. Right after that 6-5 season going into the offseason we could tell there was a different glow in the team. We all were pretty happy with everything. We could definitely tell there was going to be an immediate turnaround.
TFR: What did it mean for you guys to win the Patriot League last season?
PO: It was a great feeling. It was very surreal, but it was just awesome.
TFR: How did it feel to beat Army West Point this year after losing to them at the end of the regular season last year?
PO: Oh that was great. Revenge is always sweet.
TFR: Did you happen to catch Jay Feely’s tweet to a scout to keep an eye on you and Chase Edmonds?
PO: I did see that, yeah.
TFR: Was that a humbling experience?
PO: Very. Whenever you see stuff like that you try not to get too bigheaded, but yeah it was very humbling. Seeing stuff like that makes me want to keep working harder, just because I see that I have an opportunity that not too many other people have.
TFR: Is that in your future plans, to make it to the NFL and play football professionally?
PO: I mean if the opportunity presents itself, yes, but it’s not something that I’m banking on, though.
TFR: Have you thought about any other options?
PO: Well, right now I’m a psychology major with a minor in business, so I’m hoping to do something with that, but if the NFL comes calling, why not?
