Game 9 Player Spotlight: DeVontres Odoms-Dukes
GAME 9 MATCHUP: UCF (5-3, 4-3 in AAC) at USF (1-7, 0-6 in AAC)
DAY & TIME: Friday, Nov. 27, 3:30 p.m.
LOCATION: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa
TV: ESPN
RADIO: Over the Air: 95.3/620 WDAE &
Digital: Bulls Unlimited
SERIES: USF leads, 6-5
PURCHASE TICKETS: USFBullsTix.com, 1-800-Go-Bulls
By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
TAMPA, NOV. 27, 2020 – Raised by two strong military veteran parents,
DeVontres Odoms-Dukes knows how to stay the course, no matter how much adversity comes his way. The Tampa native that has been a part of the Bulls' program since 2016 will be honored among 10 seniors prior to today's War on I-4 clash at Raymond James Stadium.
Pushing forward as a Bull hasn't always been easy over the years, but it's paved the way for the #BayMade receiver to earn a college degree and eventually thrive on the football field – even during a pandemic – as one of USF's top targets in 2020.
"It just falls on the word Coach (Jeff) Scott gave us last week and that's just being resilient," he said.
Odoms-Dukes also uses the word "relief" to describe the feeling he gets when it comes to seeing his hard work finally pay off on the football field this season. Through eight games (six starts), he ranks second on the team with 231 yards on 19 receptions (12.2 ypc) and he's the top Bull on the stat sheet with two touchdown grabs.
Prior to this season, the former All-Hillsborough County honorable mention out of Wharton High School had just eight catches for 103 yards in 25 games of action from 2017-19.
"These past three or four years haven't really gone as planned," he said. "Now being able to contribute to the team in some type of way and not just on special teams but offense as well, it feels great."
Odoms-Dukes originally headed to USF with great expectations as a prep standout and three-star recruit who ended up redshirting in 2016. He was buried on the depth chart behind receivers like current Green Bay Packer
Marquez Valdes-Scantling in 2017. Then, he had to endure numerous personal setbacks the following season and didn't get to celebrate a touchdown catch until his fourth year of college in 2019.
Despite all that adversity, Odoms-Dukes stayed at USF, continued to take care of schoolwork to graduate and has totally committed to Coach Scott's vision in the new coaching staff's first year with the program.
"It was really tough. I contemplated not playing football and just focusing on school and going to get a job," he said. "But I felt like that was not what my life was meant for. That's not what God intended my life to be. I prayed a lot, talked to my family a lot and just really worked on myself each and every year on something I can improve."
Even with a difficult 2020 for everyone still presenting him with blessings, grateful Odoms-Dukes makes sure he communicates "like 10 times every week" with his parents, who really helped him handle situations - good or bad - with a positive approach throughout life. Marques and Leslie Odoms certainly practiced what they preached throughout long, successful careers in the U.S. Army before they both retired with Sergeant First Class status.
"My parents are both very good at keeping their composure when things aren't looking right," Odoms-Dukes said. "I think the best thing they really taught me is always keep a smile on your face, no matter what happens because you never know what can happen."
Growing up in a military family, one thing Odoms-Dukes and his four siblings in the household could always expect is their parents having to go far, far away. Thinking back, Odoms-Dukes can't even count the amount of times Marques, a 23 1/2-year veteran, and Leslie had to deploy for tours of duty in places like Iraq and Afghanistan.
"One time, my dad was gone like my whole eighth-grade year. He left in September and didn't come back until April," Odoms-Dukes said. "He missed football. He missed Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas. He wasn't able to do those things with us."
Once Marques returned home, it was often time for Leslie to handle her Army business, even a few months after she gave birth to Odoms-Dukes' younger brother, Jaden, now a 15-year-old student at Wharton High School.
"When my dad would deploy, I would know I had to step up and take care of my stuff when my mom was taking care of other things," said Odoms-Dukes, who also credits his older sisters for their family efforts. "Or when my mom would leave, my dad would come stay for a few months. I know I'd have to take care of certain other things for him. It caused us to grow up a little bit faster than most kids."
The mission of continuously handling family responsibilities took place in numerous locations of residence as well. Odoms-Dukes was born in Pensacola, Fla., and stayed in the Sunshine State until age 6 or 7, when he moved to North Carolina and lived there until he was in the midst of his sophomore year of high school.
Odoms-Dukes has been in Tampa since 2014 and no matter where he's called home, he and his siblings have respected their heroic parents' important career obligations.
"We're all a very close-knit family. We all stay tight together," he said. "Whatever we needed my parents provided for us."
Odoms-Dukes said he always thanks his parents a little extra for their service around this time each season, when teams normally hold their Salute to Service games (USF's was postponed last week). Regardless of special game themes, or national holidays, he makes sure to show his appreciation for Marques and Leslie consistently throughout each year, even after their Army retirement.
"I want to continue to have that (close) relationship with them, so when I have kids, they can go to their grandparents like they go to me," Odoms-Dukes said.
Making Family History and His Parents Proud
His path to becoming a go-to Bull on the football field wasn't always clear, Odoms-Dukes never deviated from achieving what he originally set out to do at USF.
"I had my goals for football, but my main goal was to get a degree," he said. "Not too many people in my family can say that, especially on my dad's side."
Sure enough, Odoms-Dukes made family history by receiving his college diploma as a mass communications major this May. He's currently working on another bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary sciences that could be earned by spring 2021.
"Being the first boy in my family to get a degree, I feel like this is a sign that I'm leading my family the right way," he said. "I want to be the stepping stone. When the standard comes around, they can say, 'Tre did it, so why can't you do it?' From generations on, I'm gonna be the first for that."
Odoms-Dukes has NFL dreams but wants to eventually become a sports broadcaster. Although he considers himself a quiet family man off the field, Odoms-Dukes speaks in a confident, professional manner around campus and wants to pay the skills he's acquired in college forward.
"Sports has helped me in major parts of my life and helped me make some beautiful connections with people," he said. "I think that staying with sports, I can help somebody else."
One day Bulls fans could see Odoms-Dukes in front of the camera at a big event and he's open to covering all kinds of leagues and levels.
"Football games, basketball games, Tampa Bay Lightning games, I don't care. Just being around sports, the fans and that atmosphere, I feel like that's gonna be a part of me forever," he said.
Odoms-Dukes would certainly be a recognizable on-air talent if he works in or around Tampa. As a longtime member of USF football, he greatly appreciates the love he gets in the community he's called home since 2014.
"It feels good. A lot of people from the Bay area keep in contact and they look up to me. They say, 'We love to see you do big things,'" he said. "I feel like it's pretty cool to have that recognition when I go out, I enjoy it."
About USF Football
The USF football program first took the field in 1997 and completed its 23rd season (20th at the FBS level) in 2019. The Bulls have posted 15 winning seasons, earned 14 All-America selections and 29 first-team all-conference selections and has seen 30 players selected in the NFL Draft. USF has made 10 bowl games appearances (going 6-4 in those games) and posted a program record six straight appearances from 2005-2010. The Bulls most recently made four straight bowl appearances from 2015-18 and posted back-to-back 10-win seasons in 2016 and 2017, logging a program-record 11-2 mark in 2016 while finishing both seasons ranked in the Top 25. USF spent a program record 20 straight weeks ranked in the Top 25 during the 2016 and 2017 seasons and reached as high as No. 2 in the national rankings during the 2007 season.
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