'They've got two of my guys': Former Missouri HC Barry Odom reflects on connection between Drew Lock, Albert Okwuegbunam

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Okwuegbunam, though, didn't arrive at Missouri as a bulked up 255-pound player. When Missouri recruited the former basketball player, Okwuegbunam was nearly 40 pounds lighter.


"When we recruited him, he was a skilled athlete, but he was really 215 pounds, I think, when he stepped on campus," Odom said. "I remember watching him in a basketball tournament over the Christmas holiday during the recruiting process. He scored 30-something points. And I thought, 'We've got an athlete here, but I don't know how big he can get.'


"But he went and really attacked it and I think developed not only [an understanding of] the playbook but how to run routes and how to get open. There were a number of things we did the first year with him and Josh Heupel as the offensive coordinator. We were playing in space and finding open areas and I think the basketball world really helped Albert in that transition. A number of things went into it, but it all sort of centered back on the way that he worked and continued to understand how to play the position."


Okwuegbunam will have to adjust again as he heads to the Broncos. As he aims to learn a new system and find a place in the offense, Odom said his former tight end will approach coaching points with the right mentality.


"He's very coachable," Odom said. "I know that he will work. If you're giving him a coaching point on things he needs to improve on, that immediately goes to the top of his list. Because he's a great competitor, and he will do everything he can to help that organization win at the highest level."


As the Broncos' 2019 season wound down and Odom settled into his new role as Arkansas' defensive coordinator, he didn't often have a chance to watch his former quarterback lead Denver's offense. He would get reports on his former players, though, and he kept up with the highlights of Denver's surge to end the season.


Then, ahead of the Broncos' regular-season finale, Lock invited Odom to attend Denver's game against the Raiders. Odom watched the game with Lock's parents before spending some time with Lock after the Broncos' season-ending win.


"It really was a special moment for me, us connecting and me being able to go out there and watch him live and in person that last game against the Raiders," Odom said. "He made some big plays down the stretch. He scrambled on one of the biggest plays of the game. He scrambled and got the first down they needed. He made some clutch throws. He looked comfortable. He was having fun and making throws and making plays and playing within the calls and [doing] the things that I've seen Drew do for a long time. He's just scratching the surface."


When Lock returns to the field again, Odom will have another reason to root for Denver to be successful.


"I'm a huge fan of Drew Lock and obviously of Albert Okwuegbunam and even more so now of the Broncos," Odom said. "They've got two of my guys, and it'll be fun to watch those guys develop and lead to Denver to winning a championship."