Barry Odom knows what Ryan Walters will go through when Purdue football visits Washington
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Some might be bothered if they knew the successor to Ryan Walters to lead Purdue football was his friend.
Barry Odom acknowledged his connection to Walters on Monday; even texting with his predecessor, though he didn't say when or what about, ahead of Odom leading the Boilermakers to Washington, where Walters is the defensive coordinator. But the college football coaching world is small, and this is one of several connections between the two staffs. Odom has known Washington's inside linebackers coach "since birth" — yes, his brother, Brian Odom.
UW coach Jedd Fisch was quick to point out former Purdue special teams coordinator Chris Petrilli is in the same role on his staff. But, Fisch also noted there are 17 starters who were not on Walters' roster last season, so there isn't as much of a knowledge advantage, though they have "a good feel."
"Welcome to football in 2025 where you'd think you'd have an advantage and you find out that 10 of the 11 starters on defense weren't there," Fisch said Monday.
Walters rose to coaching fame as a sharp defensive mind, leaving Illinois' defensive coordinator role to lead Purdue, where he was 5-19 in two seasons, including a 1-11 campaign that started a 19-game losing streak against power conference opponents and 16 straight against the Big Ten. The 39-year-old Walters has worked under Odom from 2014 to 2019 as a positional assistant and eventually was defensive coordinator when Odom became head coach of Missouri in 2016.
And Odom, who was fired at Mizzou in 2019 and landed as Arkansas' defensive coordinator, had to face players he recruited after a transition within the conference similar to what Walters is experiencing this week.
"Ryan and I have known each other for a long time. I consider him a friend," Odom said before continuing on the difficulty of an intra-conference transition, "… a number of things are based on relationships — because you change colors, that didn't change the relationship. From a personal standpoint, it was hard on both sides. You walk across and you see your guys you recruited, your players that just a few short months ago, you're sitting there coaching and developing, and I think you know the maturity of being in the business for a number of years.
"Ryan's a friend, and I hate coaching against my brother, but we signed up for it. He wants to beat me and I want to beat him."
Purdue's defense has taken a step forward under coordinator Mike Scherer, and without the star-studded players Walters had brought to West Lafayette. And yet, Walters has a top-25 defense at Washington.
"He's adjusted and adapted to his own personnel, just like most coaches do," Odom said. "There are things that you look at schematically and you're like, 'Yeah, that looks familiar.' But also, he's adapted and adjusted and evolved like most everybody does."
Though it hasn't come without faults.
UW lost 13-10 at Wisconsin on Saturday in a game in which the freshman quarterback ran for 47 yards rushing on 15 carries. Wisconsin's punter was the leading passer with a 24-yard completion, which helped the Badgers tally 205 yards of offense.
And whether it's Ryan Browne passing and scrambling, or Malachi Singleton coming in with his package of plays, the Boilermakers present a challenge they hope works to snap their losing streaks which started under and led to Walters' end at Purdue.
"There are no easy games in the Big Ten. There are no games that aren't extremely difficult," Fisch said, citing Purdue's close losses at Michigan, Minnesota and at home to Rutgers and Illinois. "We know that we're going to have a battle in front of us. So, we're ready for that challenge, looking forward to it."
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Ryan Walters to face Purdue football as Washington defensive coordinator
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