Junior quarterback Tylin Oden already holds offers from Georgia Tech, Kentucky and Tennessee. He’s also drawn interest from a handful of others including Ohio State, Oregon, Missouri, Vanderbilt, North Carolina and Wake Forest.
Now Oden can add Notre Dame to that list of interested programs.
“Coach (Mike) Elston came by the school,” said Oden, a 6-foot-5, 190-pounder from Spring Hill High School in Columbia, Tenn. “It was the first time I heard from him and saw a coach from Notre Dame. He just came into the school and him and my coach were just talking in the coaches office.”
The message delivered by Elston on Tuesday focused on Notre Dame’s recruiting philosophy.
“They said they didn’t want to be like every other school and just offer me,” Oden said. “They want to get the chance to recruit me, check my grades, watch me throw and check out what kind of person I am. He said if all those things check out they’ll offer me.”
That offer would sit well with Oden. He’s a long-time Notre Dame supporter thanks to what the Irish accomplish on the field and in the classroom.
“I have a big interest in them,” he said. “I’m interested in everybody, but Notre Dame I have a big interest in. It’s just the tradition and the history behind it. It’s a great football program and it’s also a really good academic school.”
Oden has already visited Western Kentucky and Vanderbilt and hopes to see several more schools this winter and spring.
He has a junior day visit scheduled at Ohio State.
“There are plenty of schools I plan on visiting. I signed up for a junior day at Ohio State. That’s the only one for right now,” he said. “I talk to one of their coaches once every week. They have a lot of interest.”
As a junior, Oden threw for more than 1,000 yards and rushed for almost 1,000 more as he led Spring Hill to the playoffs for the first time since 2009. He combined for 28 touchdowns and threw just three interceptions.
“(Junior year) went really well,” he said. “It was one of the best seasons I’ve ever had. I did a lot better passing and running. It was just one of those years I got to show off what I really could do.”
Spring Hill runs most of its plays out of the I-formation, but Oden has also operated out of the pistol, spread, two-back and single-back looks.
He believes his athleticism is his greatest strength.
“I love to run and to run to open up the pass,” he said. “I think I have a really strong arm too.”
Oden also plays basketball at Spring Hill.
He plans to attend several college camps and hopes to attend one of the national combines.
His uncle, Bernard Oden, played quarterback at Memphis in the late 1990s. He is among Memphis’ all-time single season passing leaders. In 1997 he threw for 2,249 yards, which is seventh in school history, and he also completed 170 passes, good for eighth all-time at the school.
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