Rome Odunze on the NFL Draft, Washington's 2023 season and more

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Rome Odunze came to Washington as a four-star recruit in the 2020 class, and as a former Gatorade Player of the Year and state track champion in Nevada.
He left with the Huskies’ single-season receiving record, and as a potential top-10 NFL Draft pick and one of the most popular UW players of the modern era.
Ahead of his appearance in Indianapolis for this week’s NFL Combine, I spoke with Odunze for an exit interview about his UW career, Kalen DeBoer’s departure for Alabama, the national championship game and more. Questions and responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Is there anything you’re hoping to prove at the combine that you haven’t shown just playing football?
Everybody has their projections and everything for everything people do at the combine, so I just hope to exceed expectations for whatever those projections are. What people think I’m going to run, I just want to exceed expectations. For me, the combine isn’t the end-all, be-all of what a player can be or where a player’s at. But I do think it’s an exciting thing to be able to compare draft classes for years and years, and compare athletes among one another within the classes.
You’ve said you’re going to run the 40. Did you put a lot of thought into that decision, or were you always going to run?
I honestly haven’t put a lot of thought into it. For me, I just have the intent to go out there and do anything. I don’t feel like I have anything to sort of hide or try and not do, or something that I don’t feel I can do well. I just want to go out there and compete and go through all the tests, be able to compare myself to some legends and people who came before. The 40 is just a part of completing everything.
What’s it like going immediately from the daily structure of playing for a college football program to preparing for the draft?
It’s definitely a transition, but it comes with not having to do homework all the time and having a little bit more freedom. It has its pros and its cons. You have a little bit more freedom. It’s just another part of the process. I think the more challenging transition will be once we’re all drafted, going to those teams and finding our spot within the city and within those teams.
The answer might be obvious here, but aside from not winning the national championship, was the 2023 season exactly what you hoped for when you decided to come back?
100 percent. Other than the national championship, it was a tremendous season and something that I will forever be super proud of, and super grateful to have been a part of, with all my boys. I’m so glad all of us got to experience that thing together with all my brothers, something that not a lot of people get to experience at that level. Other than the national championship game, it was awesome, man. Something I’ll definitely be reliving probably the rest of my life.
What was the biggest factor or piece of advice that did convince you to come back for 2023?
I think what kept going back and playing through my head was thinking about all the teammates that were coming back as well, and all the hard work of what we had all been through, the possibility of winning a national championship and getting to that level and playing in those games. When the moment’s right there, and you have so much success like we had the previous season, and it’s on the cusp like that — having that moment with all your boys, it’s hard to pass up. Just getting advice on thinking about those things and how that could potentially play out really moved me.
Was there ever a time when you wished you’d gone pro?
No, honestly. I wouldn’t say there was. When I made the decision, I was pretty much ready to live by it. Once I make a decision, I’m ready to go full-on with it. I had the opportunity to go to the NFL still. It wasn’t like the NFL was going anywhere. So just living in the moment, trying to increase my chances to enter the league at the highest point was really my focus.
I think a lot of UW players and fans feel like they didn’t really get to celebrate the 2023 season, because of Kalen DeBoer leaving for Alabama so soon after. What’s your perspective on that, considering that you already knew you were moving on and weren’t going to be part of the program anymore?
I can definitely see how people would feel the disappointment in that, for sure. I was lucky enough to be doing something different, moving on from college football, so I don’t think it hit as hard for me in that aspect. For me, (the 2023 season) wasn’t something that we’re just looking to experience just right now. I think this team, what we were able to accomplish, is something that hopefully can be celebrated for years to come. I think it was a little sour the way DeBoer left right after, and kind of left everybody talking about that and not all the success that we had last year, but for me, that doesn’t take away from what we did. I don’t think the fans will look at it that way. I think at some point everybody will be able to look back — and I think people still do. I see some of it online, as well. People enjoyed it, we all enjoyed it, and we’ll all be able to live those moments over for time to come.
Were you surprised DeBoer left?
I was really surprised, honestly. I didn’t have any inside scoop or anything. Just a little bummed, just because I love Coach DeBoer and what he did for the program. I think he’s a tremendous coach and I think he would have continued to have success at Washington, and I want his success, as well. I was super bummed, but super excited for him at the same time, because it’s a tremendous opportunity in front of him, and a tremendous platform to compete at a very high level still, in a position that has been filled for the last (17) years. So I understand. I understand the appeal, and respect his ambition to play in that setting. It was bittersweet.
 
Now that you’re removed from it a little bit, do you have any different feeling or perspective on how the national championship game played out?
I wish the game would have been won, 100 percent, but I feel like we went out there and fought our tails off. We really did. We really went out there with the intent to win the game. There wasn’t anybody on that sideline that wasn’t putting their best foot forward to win it, and I find comfort in that fact, that we went out there and tried our best. Reaching that moment, getting to that milestone, is not something to just shrug off. It is something that took hard work. Still won 14 games in a row, something that had never been done in the program’s history. I look back on it with gratitude. Super grateful to be in those moments, and still shows you we still have things to learn, still have stuff to prove as individuals. I think I can relish in that fact.
Where is the mental balance between being disappointed that you didn’t win, but also acknowledging and celebrating the season you had?
For me, after the fact, it was rough. It was really hard, honestly. It definitely took some time to be removed to go watch some film of some other games, to really be like, ‘yeah, we had a pretty good season. We did pretty well for ourselves.’ It’s nearly impossible in the moment, just because of the magnitude of the game and how we all felt. It was rough in the moment, for sure. I think you take some time, you get your mind back a little bit, get away from the game, you realize it was a pretty good season.
What would you say was the high point? I know there’s a few to choose from.
I feel like a big one was the Pac-12 championship, honestly. That was the first championship I had won as a Husky football player. It was against our rival, where people said we were 9-point underdogs, and went in there and handled business. It was in my home city. Had like 80 people at the game. That one was really special for me, honestly, that I’ll remember forever. A championship for all my boys, the first one that we claimed before the Sugar Bowl, so I feel like that one was pretty dope.
Was there a time in your career at UW where you wondered if getting to that point was going to be possible?
There’s definitely moments of doubt, and ‘man, this takes a lot of work to get to these points, and we’re really going to have to go out and do it.’ There were a lot of expectations prior to the season starting. I think you just put your right foot in front of your left each and every day, and go through the process and do the things you’ve been doing every single day that brought you that success. Those things start to compound, and the dream becomes bigger and bigger. I think going into that last season, it was 100 percent belief we were going to go take it. When it builds naturally for people like that, it’s something that can truly be accomplished.
You stayed at UW through a couple coaching changes, and chose to come back in 2023 rather than enter the draft. When you see so many players transfer this offseason, does any part of you wish they would stay at Washington? Or is it all about supporting everyone doing what’s best for them?
I bleed purple and gold. I was there all four of my years. I’m a Washington alum, a Washington fan for life. Definitely, I’d love for every guy that puts on the uniform to be able to stay there and have success there, but I definitely lean more toward the second option. I’m really a fan of the players. I know how ruthless this game can be. I know how coaches can change and all the things that can go on within college football. With the transfer portal open, with NIL wide open, there’s just too many opportunities out there for people to just consider one college being their home for their entire college career at this point. I think it’s very thoughtful and kind of exactly what you need to do when you’re in that position, is find the best place for yourself.
How would you say you’re different, as a person and a player, since arriving at UW?
I just grew as a person. I became more social. I’m better in my relationships. I’m more personable. I’m not just in it to have success for myself. You realize the joy and love and success of others, when you’re on a team like that, when you’re going through college with so many people trying to figure life out, you start to have more empathy for the struggles that everybody is going through. That’s the same on the field, as well, playing for others and having that joy of playing with one another.
We all know now about your drive home from Tucson. How hard did you have to try to keep that a secret when it happened?
I don’t think it was too hard, honestly, keeping it under wraps. It was only the staff that kind of knew. It definitely was a big emphasis, for sure, because I knew there was a big game coming up, and I didn’t want anybody trying to take some cheap shot at my ribs. That’s really why I was hiding it.
What do you make of Ryan Grubb going to the Seahawks? How do you think that offense will translate to the NFL?
I think it’ll translate well. I really do. I think it’s a very explosive offense. They find ways to win, regardless of the defenses they play. I don’t know if it’ll be completely like how we were doing it, because in the league you have better everything. You have better pass defenders in the secondary. The people up front in the trenches, it’s rougher for the quarterback to go through all those reads, as well. ButI think they’re still going to have success because of their work ethic, and they’re going to grind to have that success. I’m excited for it, as well. I have no doubt they’ll go out there and put out a game plan that will bring them success. But I think it’s interesting, just with better players on either end, how it will look different in the NFL. 
Do you have any strong opinions about where you want to be drafted?
It’s been a goal of mine to be top-10, so I’ve been having that goal for a minute now, and wanting to be around that range. At the end of the day, what will happen needs to happen. I can’t pick my team where I want to be within the top-10, so just honestly being OK with that, being open to any 32 teams that could pick me, has been a big emphasis for me. I don’t want to feel like I got disappointed in some way. I just want to go top-10 and let everything handle itself.
Are you planning to attend the draft, if invited?
I’m hoping to go. I’m hoping I can have a good amount of people. I don’t know how many people end up being able to be in the room with you when you’re there, but I’m hoping to have at least 10, because I know I’ve got a lot of people that want to support me in that manner. I feel like that moment is special, and something I want to experience with all my family.
What advice would you give a current high-school recruit?
One, have fun with the recruiting process. It is a lot, and it is hard, and it is annoying in so many different aspects. I feel like when you really take advantage of it and have fun with it like a lot of these kids do, that’s when it becomes more fun. I remember when I was going through the process, I just hated it. I hated getting hit up by all these coaches and all these different things.
 
And just play ball. Have fun with it, still. The offers sometimes don’t come when you want them to come. For me, they came my senior year. Just have fun with it and the offers and everything will follow.
If you could change one thing about college football, what would it be?
If I could change anything right now, I would say players start getting some money through the TV deals. With the expansion of everything, it’s crazy with all the money going through there. With NIL, all the pressure is really on the collectives and the boosters right now. There should be something put in where college players can benefit off the TV deals and get a cut like everybody else is.
— Christian Caple, On Montlake
 
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