LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Join KTNV sports reporter Tina Nguyen as she walks 100 yards with Barry Odom to get to know the new UNLV head football coach.
TINA NGUYEN: here we are with you and the head football coach, Barry Odom. Coach, it is month four for you and your family here in Las Vegas. What have you learned about the town so far?
BARRY ODOM: Well, number one is it's a beautiful city. And I think the opportunity with the number of folks that we've had to meet and have the opportunity to be around, it's been such a warm welcome mean to us by the entire city. It's been tremendous.
NGUYEN: You are a Vegas guy now, but I know you've got some southern roots in you being from Ada, Oklahoma. How have your Oklahoma roots shaped you?
ODOM: Well, I think you always wherever you grow up, that's that kind of defines who you are as a person to an extent. And some of the values that myself and my two brothers were brought up on by our parents are treating everyone with great respect, trying to spin the day and outwork your competition, so to speak, and then the value of openness and honesty. I think those hold true in any line of work, and especially in coaching.
NGUYEN: You've coached high school ball, you've been at Memphis, Missouri, Arkansas, and now here at UNLV. What have some of those coaching staffs taught you?
ODOM: Yeah, you always learn from your experiences. The good things, some of the setbacks, I think you always apply those. You take them and then apply them in your next stop. And every place is different. But then also there's a lot of similarities in UNLV and the places that I've been so fortunate to have a really good staff. I think there's tremendous support from Eric Harper, our director of athletics.
NGUYEN: This is a program that's hungry to win. What does it take to really turn a program around?
ODOM: I think people without a doubt, you've got to have the right people in the right spots, the consistency, the blueprint to do it, and then the willingness to do it every single day. And you've got to have some breaks along the way. You know, the recruiting aspect on how important that is to get the right kids in the right spots and the culture of your program is is the most important thing.
NGUYEN: Well, Coach, as we approach the end zone here, spring showcase happening on Saturday, what can we expect from this group of guys that you've got?
ODOM: Yeah, I'm excited about what they've done. You know, it'll be practice number 15 for us. They've they've progressed in a great way in every area. I know they're excited. As we get closer to it, they're excited to go compete, compete against each other. You'll see a group that's that will they're going to play hard. There will be exciting plays probably on both sides of the ball, which will be fun to see. They're going to take the values of playing hard, playing smart, being tough, the things that really we're trying to establish as an identity of our program.
