UTEP wide receiver Kenny Odom has been named to the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Watch List for the upcoming college football season.
Odom, who started in 10 of 12 games during his first year at UTEP, recorded eight touchdown receptions, placing him second in Conference USA. He also ranked sixth in yards per catch with an average of 16.1 and finished eighth in receiving yards, totaling 741 for the season. Odom led UTEP in receiving yards, yards per catch, and touchdown catches.
He was third on the team with 46 receptions and contributed on special teams by adding 123 yards on seven kickoff returns, averaging 17.6 yards per return.
As a redshirt junior entering the 2025 season, Odom had several standout performances last year. He caught three touchdown passes on eight receptions for a total of 108 yards against Kennesaw State. This made him the first UTEP player since 2010 to score three touchdown receptions in a single game.
Odom also achieved a career-high 128 receiving yards with two touchdowns at Colorado State and scored on a career-long 76-yard touchdown against Western Kentucky University. In the final game of the season against rival New Mexico State, he played a key role in helping UTEP come back from a significant deficit; his 30-yard scoring reception gave his team its first lead late in the third quarter as they eventually defeated NM State by a score of 42-35.
Throughout the season, Odom tied for the CUSA lead with four receptions over fifty yards, ranked second with six forty-plus yard receptions, and tied for first with three sixty-plus yard receptions.
The Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award is presented annually to the top offensive player in Division I football who demonstrates qualities associated with Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinee Earl Campbell: “integrity, performance, teamwork, sportsmanship, drive, community, and tenacity; specifically, tenacity to persist and determination to overcome adversity and injury in pursuit of reaching goals.” Eligible nominees must be either born in Texas or have graduated from a Texas high school or played at a Texas-based junior college or currently be playing at a Texas Division I four-year college.
UTEP will open its new football season under head coach Scotty Walden at Utah State on Aug. 30. The Miners’ home opener will take place Sept. 6 against UT Martin at Sun Bowl Stadium.
