2011 Countdown: #18 Martavious Odoms

Martavious Odoms

Name: Martavious Odoms
Height: 5'8"
Weight: 173 lbs.
High school: Pahokee High School in Pahokee, FL
Position: Slot receiver/wide receiver
Class: Senior
Jersey number: #9
Last year: I ranked Odoms #16 and said he would start at slot receiver, catch 35 passes for 420 yards, and score 2 touchdowns.  He started 3 games but missed the second half of the regular season with a broken foot.  He finished with 16 receptions for 241 yards and 1 touchdown.  He also had 8 kickoff returns for 180 yards.

I think Michigan fans can all agree that we love us some Martavious Odoms.  The man love started when he ran head first into a middle linebacker to block for Denard Robinson's electrifying first play as a collegian and continued through his game-clinching touchdown catch from Tate Forcier in the 2009 Indiana game.  Before that he was just a fumble-prone punt/kickoff returner with occasional highlights like his 2008 punt return for a touchdown against Purdue.  Unfortunately, Odoms has started piling up injuries, missing one, three, and six games in the last three seasons, respectively.  At that rate we can expect Odoms to miss ten games in 2011, but I hope not.  He's a tough player with a little bit of a burst, and his blocking is second to none from the wide receiver position.

The move to more of a pro-style offense this year suggests that Odoms will see a slightly diminished role.  He was on pace to catch 30-plus balls last year, but those will be harder to come by in 2011.  Michigan will likely run more I-formation plays (something that was all but abandoned last season), and the two outside wide receivers look to be Junior Hemingway and Roy Roundtree.  Odoms has been running with the first group as a slot receiver, and he might pick up where Roy Roundtree left off out of spread formations.  With Darryl Stonum redshirting this season and only one viable returner in the form of Drew Dileo, it would be nice if Odoms could also contribute on the return units, where he has averaged 22.1 yards a return in his career.

Prediction: Starting slot receiver; 25 receptions, 300 yards, 2 touchdowns