First things first: I should clarify the term in the title for those unfamiliar. A TEITO is a term coined by the esteemed CFB writer Eric Froton, denoting players who are TEs in name only: they have TE eligibility on Fantrax but play WR (or some other position) in real life. These players can be extremely valuable for CFF managers, as they can provide a noticeable advantage at TE—a notoriously tricky position to find consistently productive players.
Now, on to today’s business. The month of March ushers in the beginning of spring camps all over college campuses in America, and with it comes portfolios full of new information. Alabama Football is one of the programs that kicked off its spring program last week.
Its incoming freshman TE, Caleb Odom, by way of Carrollton, Georgia, was a consensus four-star prospect in the 2024 cycle but a five-star rated athlete in ON3’s database.
Interestingly, as someone who follows UGA football recruiting closely, there was not a lot of emphasis from the in-state school placed on the pursuit of Odom. They seemed to be more enamored with the out-of-state Jaden Reddell. That tells me something. Odom is not the first—and most certainly won’t be the last—instance where I’m left scratching my head with Kirby’s evals, though I think he’s earned the benefit of the doubt by now. That’s not to say there aren’t any misses, though, and Odom could prove to be the next one.
For starters, I should say any athlete who has his occupation as ‘Chef’ on his Instagram immediately has my attention. I should also note that I know UGA’s staff viewed Odom more as a WR than TE, given his 6’3, 215 frame, which probably affected their weighting of him in their rankings.
Alabama’s coaches might be on to the same notion. Here’s a quote from the new OC, Nick Sheridan, on Odom practicing with the WRs to open spring camp:
I think with Caleb, we’re just trying to put him in a position to be successful early on in his career. You know, he’s a big kid. He’s very athletic. He’s very explosive. He has a great frame. How his body grows and what he turns into being when he’s 20, 21, 22 years old, I think time will tell.
Of note, Odom sports the exact same build as one of coach Kalen DeBoer’s understudies—Rome Odunze, at 6’3″, 215 lbs. The outlook several years into the future is unclear whether Odom will be used as a WR in the offense, but given his build and the fact that this staff literally had a star WR with the same metrics the previous two seasons, it’s not out of the realm of possibility.
This is where I should mention that Odom is labeled as a TE and has TE designation on Fantrax currently. Again, projecting whether he’ll keep this designation several years into the future is a fool’s errand, but just on the possibility that he keeps it and carves out a role for himself in Alabama’s passing attack, there are paths to CFF excellence here.
In fact, even if he were to lose his TE designation, the athlete himself in the system is interesting enough for me to seek to acquire some of his shares this offseason in dynasty leagues. There is a future where he could be a designated pig as a WR in the offense, just as Rome Odunze was. Odunze, of course, took several seasons to become the player he was in 2023, and I would say Odom is more of an enigma in terms of what his outlook is. He’ll undoubtedly take time to hone into whatever position he so chooses.
Odom has drawn praise already in the early days of his Alabama Football career—even drawing comparisons to former UGA standout George Pickens. When asked about his early impressions of Odom, teammate Kendrick Law said:
Caleb Odom is a WR. He is not a TE. Caleb is elite. He’s the biggest receiver we have height wise. He’s the most aggressive guy. When I look at him, I kind of see George Pickens. He’s really aggressive at the line, has strong hands, and goes up and attacks the ball.
It should be noted that teammates will oftentimes speak very flatteringly of each other, which is to be expected amongst friends and colleagues. However, it’s better to receive praise than not, and Odom’s career is apparently off to a good start in Tuscaloosa.
As far as the outlook for the future, DeBoer doesn’t really use TEs that much, so it would be advantageous for Odom to be deployed as a WR. The TE designation on Fantrax is a crucial part of the equation but not the be-all-end-all component to the value here. I am not expecting much in year one from Odom, especially with (likely) Jalen Milroe at the helm.
In 2025, things could be interesting, but even then—Rome Odunze himself wasn’t even CFF relevant at that point in his development. Odom’s profile is for those who are in it for the long con because you will likely be waiting a long time for the fruits of your reward to show themselves—if they do at all. However, as with all things, so long as the price is low enough, why not take a stab or two? You never know what you’ll end up with in a few years.
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