Illinois Football: 4-star Georgia tight end receives Illini offer

Illinois football went to The Peach State in hopes of landing a solid tight end for 2024.

This season, a development for the Illini has been using the tight end position. The previous coaching regime seemed to forget the tight end existed, but Bret Bielema and his coaching staff have utilized their tight ends well.

There are a few factors in why the tight end has been used more this season than in the past. I believe one of the main reasons is the fact Illinois has a quarterback who can get them the ball. Tommy DeVito has been amazing for the program and will continue feeding his tight ends this season.

The new usage of the tight end position will enable the Illini to recruit better at the position. One of our new tight end targets is Caleb Odom.

Odom is a 6-foot-5, 205-pound tight end from Carrollton High School in Georgia. He is rated as a four-star recruit and ranked as the No. 265 player in the class of 2024. He is also the No. 14 tight end in the nation and the No. 38 player coming out of Georgia.

On Thursday, Odom took to Twitter to announce that he had received an offer from the Illini. This is a big offer for the program and one that will hopefully start a pipeline to the state of Georgia.

Illinois football building relationships with unfamiliar territory is huge for recruiting.

There really isn’t a question about why Odom is a four-star recruit. He is starting to rack up the offers with roughly nine on the table right now, and they are all from big-time programs. Odom’s game jumps off the page as well.

I love Odom’s ability to run routes. He is crisp with his moves and this enables him to create separation. Odom also has multiple gears with his speed. He can turn on the jets and blow past any defensive back. When you mix his great speed with 6-foot-5 size, then you get a dominant player.

It will be interesting to see if Illinois can actually make some headway in a state that hasn’t exactly been friendly to the program.

Illinois only secured one state of Georgia recruit from the 2022 class and that was Tyson Rooks. We haven’t pulled in a Georgia recruit for the class of 2023 yet. So, only one player has pledged to the Illini from the state of Georgia in the Bielema era.

Hopefully, the Illini can build some type of recruiting pipeline to Georgia. It would be nice to scoop up some talented recruits from the south.