OXFORD – Not too dissimilar from the situation his fellow transfer portal signee Kewan Lacy faced, Ole Miss sophomore wide receiver Caleb Odom’s decision to head to Oxford was made easier given previous familiarity.
Odom, a 6-foot-5, 215-pound transfer from Alabama, was a consensus top 100-player in the 2024 recruiting class out of Carrollton High School in Georgia. As a senior, Odom caught 46 passes for 748 yards and 12 touchdowns – all team highs – for a Trojans squad that finished the season ranked No. 33 in MaxPreps’ national rankings. Ole Miss was one of Odom’s top choices in his initial recruiting process, he said, though he ultimately enrolled with the Crimson Tide. He was listed as a tight end by 247Sports in his high school recruiting profile but played receiver full-time with the Crimson Tide.
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Odom caught seven passes for 65 yards in 2024 and entered the transfer portal in December.
“I have nothing but love for Alabama. I think they’re going to be really good. I think they’re developing players,” Odom said. “ … They helped me … develop, and I was able to thrive under them, too.”
Less than two weeks after entering the portal, Odom officially committed to Ole Miss. He is one of five new transfer additions to the Rebels’ receiver room, joining former Oklahoma State receiver De’Zhaun Stribling, former Penn State wide receiver Harrison Wallace III, former West Virginia receiver Traylon Ray and former Wake Forest wide receiver Deuce Alexander.
Lacy nearly came to Ole Miss in the 2024 recruiting class before opting to play at Missouri. He entered the transfer portal in the winter and is with the Rebels this spring. Given his previous relationships with Ole Miss’ staff from their prior recruiting attempts, Odom said he “knew everyone, basically the whole coaching staff” as well as some players and Oxford itself.
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“I think ultimately I just wanted to be somewhere where I felt wanted and needed and felt comfortable,” Odom said. “And so obviously having a relationship with Ole Miss out of high school, them being my second choice, it made sense for me to come back up here and really just get to know (wide receivers) Coach (George) McDonald and get back up here to see Coach Kiffin and really just talk to them.”
The Rebels return junior Cayden Lee – who had a career-high 874 receiving yards last season – but lose receivers Tre Harris, Jordan Watkins and Antwane “Juice” Wells Jr., who combined for 2,489 yards and 22 touchdowns in 2024-25. Odom and his fellow transfers will likely play a big part in Ole Miss’ passing game as the offense breaks in new starting quarterback Austin Simmons. Simmons, a redshirt sophomore, threw for 282 yards and two touchdowns last season behind starter Jaxson Dart.
“(Odom) made some really big plays today,” Kiffin said Tuesday. “Transitioned to being a full-time receiver, he’s still working on that and all the stuff that goes with that and the splits and all the rules and releases. So, I think he’s done a great job.”
