Four-star 2025 Defensive Tackle Trajen Odom Commits to Ohio State

By Garrick Hodge on June 28, 2024 at 12:00 pm
Trajen Odom
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Larry Johnson has made another impact addition for the 2025 class.

Four-star 2025 North Carolina defensive tackle Trajen Odom committed to Ohio State on Friday, giving the Buckeyes a much-needed interior defensive lineman for the current cycle. 

The Odom File

  • Class: 2025
  • Size: 6-4/285
  • Pos: DT
  • School: Weddington (Matthews, North Carolina)
  • Composite Rating: ★★★★
  • Composite Rank: #283 (#31 DL)

Odom has long maintained the Buckeyes were one of his favorite college teams growing up, and now he'll have the chance to wear the scarlet and gray in college. He picked up his offer from Johnson in January after the OSU defensive line coach stopped at Odom's school. He made his first visit to Columbus in March.

“Being in Columbus, the visit was great,” Odom told Eleven Warriors shortly after the visit. “The atmosphere and the area were cool. I liked the relationships I built with coach Day, coach Johnson and the whole defensive staff was great. My main takeaways were that there’s a lot of intensity within the entire program and the system. A big thing is the developmental piece that coach Johnson has put into his players and everything. It’s really a brotherhood there and a great relationship between the players and staff.”

On that trip, Johnson and Ryan Day each told the 6-foot-4, 285-pound prospect he's a priority target for Ohio State.

“It was huge, coach Day said the same thing, that I’m a priority,” Odom said. “Coming from coach Johnson, arguably the best defensive line coach in college football, that’s a big thing for me that he really wants me on this team and wants to coach me and develop me. It means a lot to me.” 

Odom visited OSU again in May, a few weeks before his official visit to campus. On his official visit, Odom saw enough from his experience to choose the Buckeyes over other contenders in his recruitment including USC, Oregon and UCLA. The Ducks were the main competition for Odom, but Johnson and OSU won out in the end.

With Odom now in the fold, OSU sits at 21 commitments for the 2025 class. He's the fourth defensive lineman, joining Zion GradyZahir Mathis and London Merritt. Odom is the first interior defensive lineman. The Buckeyes would still like to add another interior prospect such as Malik Autry or Maxwell Roy. If five-star 2026 defensive tackle Jahkeem Stewart reclassifies to 2025, he'll also be a priority target for Johnson this winter.

Pos Name Rating Rank Size School
CB DEVIN SANCHEZ ★★★★★ #5 NATL | #1 CB 6-2 | 170 North Shore (Houston, Texas)
CB NA'EEM OFFORD ★★★★★ #6 NATL | #2 CB 6-1 | 185 Parker (Birmingham, Alabama)
QB TAVIEN ST. CLAIR ★★★★★ #14 NATL | #3 QB 6-4 | 210 Bellefontaine (Bellefontaine, Ohio)
S FAHEEM DELANE ★★★★ #34 NATL | #2 S 6-2 | 195 Good Counsel (Olney, Maryland)
LB TARVOS ALFORD ★★★★ #47 NATL | #5 LB 6-2 | 210 Vero Beach (Vero Beach, Florida)
WR QUINCY PORTER ★★★★ #49 NATL | #8 WR 6-3 | 190 Bergen Catholic (Oradell, New Jersey)
OT CARTER LOWE ★★★★ #54 NATL | #7 OT 6-5 | 290 Whitmer (Toledo, Ohio)
DE ZAHIR MATHIS ★★★★ #60 NATL | #5 Edge 6-6 | 225 Imhotep Institute (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
DE ZION GRADY ★★★★ #66 NATL | #6 Edge 6-4 | 235 Enterprise (Enterprise, Alabama)
RB BO JACKSON ★★★★ #81 NATL | #5 RB 6-0 | 205 Villa Angela-St. Joseph (Cleveland, Ohio)
DE LONDON MERRITT ★★★★ #116 NATL | #13 DL 6-2 | 250 IMG Academy (Bradenton, Florida)
TE NATE ROBERTS ★★★★ #132 NATL | #6 TE 6-4 | 235 Washington (Washington, Oklahoma)
DT TRAJEN ODOM ★★★★ #283 NATL | #31 DL 6-4 | 285 Weddington (Matthews, North Carolina)
S DESHAWN STEWART ★★★★ #295 NATL | #26 S 6-2 | 185 DePaul Catholic (Wayne, New Jersey)
WR DE'ZIE JONES ★★★★ #314 NATL | #42 WR 6-0 | 180 DePaul Catholic (Wayne, New Jersey)
S CODY HADDAD ★★★★ #377 NATL | #19 ATH 6-1 | 175 St. Ignatius (Cleveland, Ohio)
LB ELI LEE ★★★★ #381 NATL | #41 LB 6-3 | 230 Archbishop Hoban (Akron, Ohio)
RB ISAIAH WEST ★★★ #533 NATL | #45 RB 5-11 | 208 St. Joseph's Prep School (Philadelphia, PA)
WR BODPEGN MILLER ★★★ #579 NATL | #90 WR 6-4 | 180 Ontario (Mansfield, OH)
TE BRODY LENNON ★★★ #608 NATL | #30 TE 6-4 | 220 Gates Mills (Gates Mills, OH)
OL JAKE COOK ★★★ #623 NATL | #39 IOL 6-5 | 295 Westerville North (Westerville, OH)
Prospect Rating Data: 247Sports Composite

Odom a stout run-stopper, provides a steady interior presence 

Per 247Sports' composite rankings, Odom is considered the No. 283 prospect and the No. 31 defensive lineman in the 2025 class.

In his junior season at Weddington (Matthews, North Carolina), Odom recorded 54 tackles, 22 tackles for loss, four sacks and one forced fumble. As a sophomore, he racked up 41 tackles, 11 tackles for loss and five sacks.

“I see myself as three-technique, but also I can wide out to a five-technique on third downs to get a mismatch,” Odom said. “It’s all about seeing if I can get the one-on-one and get to the quarterback.”

Odom can overwhelm interior offensive linemen with his sheer power, tossing aside guards and centers like rag dolls occasionally to bring down opposing ball carriers or quarterbacks. His instincts are superb and often uses quick block-shedding techniques to disrupt running lanes. 

His 6-foot-4, 285-pound frame is a good starting point for Odom, but he'll likely need at least a year to put on additional weight before he's ready to see meaningful snaps. But Odom profiles as a potential regular contributor on the Buckeyes' defensive line rotation once he adapts to the college game.

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