FSU Football: The Importance of Odell Haggins in Recent Recruiting
By Ty Ragans
FSU football assistant Tim Brewster gets most of the credit for being an ace recruiter, but Odell Haggins has been pivotal in getting top talent.
National Signing Day has come and passed once again as FSU football loaded up on talent as usual. The Noles have thrived on the recruiting trail throughout the Jimbo Fisher era, turning recruiting victories into success on the field. Jimbo Fisher deserves a ton of credit for bringing in elite classes, as does tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator Tim Brewster.
However, defensive tackles coach and longtime assistant Odell Haggins has proved once again just how important he is on the recruiting trail.
Haggins is a former FSU star player often overlooked when speaking of ace recruiters. After pulling the number one defensive tackle in the 2017 class, Marvin Wilson, Haggins is starting to get well-deserved recognition -including being named the ACC’s recruiter of the year by 247sports.
Haggins has always known what it takes to win. As a player, Haggins was a part of a 39-8-1 era for the Noles from 1986-1989 starring at nose guard. Haggins became an assistant coach for FSU football under Bobby Bowden following the 1993 season. Through-out his coaching career, Haggins has developed elite talent across the defensive line and continues to do so today.
Defensive tackle is one of the most important positions on the field. Teams that win national championships all have one thing in common: elite players at defensive tackle. It is Haggins’ job to develop defensive tackles to a championship level, and he does himself some favors by bringing in some of the best athletes in the country at the position.
In 2011, Haggins brought in the number two defensive tackle in the country in Timmy Jernigan. A year later in 2012, Haggins was the main recruiter for the number three tackle in the country, Eddie Goldman. Does anyone remember what happened in 2013? FSU won a national championship behind a dominating defensive front (among other things).
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Marvin Wilson is the latest incredible recruiting job by Odell Haggins at such a critical position. Jernigan was a Florida boy but a long-time Gator lean, Goldman is from the Washington D.C. area and Marvin Wilson is from Houston. The aforementioned factors make Odell Haggins’s recruiting efforts even more remarkable.
Pulling in Marvin Wilson isn’t the only reason Haggins won ACC recruiter of the year, – he was the main recruiter for Khalan Laborn, DJ Mathews, Jalen Parks, and Cory Durden, all key components of the 2017 class.
Odell Haggins is as ‘Nole’blooded as it gets – there’s no doubting what this university means to him. Haggins now has the opportunity to coach even more talented players and an elite prospect in Wilson, his track record shows he will get the most out of said prospects.
Recruiting never sleeps, so there’s no doubt he is focused on his next big haul. It’s great to see Haggins getting the recognition he deserves by being named the number one recruiter in the ACC for 2017.