In January, Ohio State defensive line coach Larry Johnson made it a priority to visit North Carolina to check in on a talented defensive tackle in the 2025 class, Trajen Odom.
Johnson offered Odom on the visit, which meant a lot to the four-star prospect considering the Buckeyes were one of his favorite college teams growing up. Two months later, Odom showed Johnson and Ohio State he’s equally as serious about them by taking his first visit to Columbus in his recruitment.
“Being in Columbus, the visit was great,” Odom told Eleven Warriors. “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.”
Odom spent his weekend at OSU and made the most of his experience, taking in the city and touring the campus and athletic facilities. He also attended the Buckeyes’ practice on Saturday, where the defensive linemen stood out to him.
“My impression of them was great,” he said. “They don’t have the biggest guys there, but the technique coach Johnson has given them and the fine details he’s put them through, the stuff he’s taught them, they’ve added it to their game quickly.”
Odom spent a lot of time around Johnson, who conveyed to Odom that OSU sees him as a perfect three-technique in the Buckeyes’ scheme.
“We talked a lot,” Odom said. “We talked about his principles of being a coach, the values of being a part of the Buckeyes, where I’m going to be playing, when he wants me there and how he’ll build around me and build pieces with me. And then football and life in general and how to reach your goals.”
Johnson stressed to Odom that he is a priority defensive tackle target to the Buckeyes in their 2025 class, which was echoed by Ryan Day when the pair briefly met on the visit.
“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 is considered the 292nd-ranked prospect and the 33rd-best defensive lineman in the 2025 class, per 247Sports’ composite rankings, and has earned more than 30 Division I offers. He believes he’ll likely play three-technique at the next level, though he could have the flexibility to move outside occasionally. The North Carolina product recorded 54 tackles, 22 tackles for loss, four sacks and one forced fumble in his junior season.
“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.”
Ohio State was already a top contender in Odom’s recruitment before he made his visit to Columbus, but OSU has moved the needle even further for the 6-foot-5, 275-pound defensive tackle following the visit. Odom has now locked in an official visit to OSU and will return to Columbus on June 7.
“Before the visit they were already really high for me, but this brought them even higher,” Odom said. “Now they’re battling for first place with another school. They’re really high for me right now.”
Other schools Odom says he’s considering include Oregon, LSU, USC, UCLA, Georgia and Colorado. Odom doesn’t envision his recruitment going past June, saying he’ll likely commit sometime after his official visits, but also noted a commitment could come earlier than that if he believes he’s found the right fit.
“Development is a big piece, my relationship with the coaches, stable coaching environment and life after football are big things for me right now,” Odom said when discussing what the biggest factors are in his recruitment.
