Rome Odunze on NFL Draft in 2 Days, Visits, Ducks Game, Penix

Former Washington Huskies and soon-to-be NFL receiver Rome Odunze joins Dave Softy Mahler and Dick Fain to talk about the draft coming up in two days and what the process has been like, memories of the victory over Oregon, and Michael Penix’s letter.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Welcome to the NFL drafts Now backto Sucky and Din on your home for
the twenty twenty four NFL Draft andSeamle's best NFL Draft cover Seattle Seahawks,
THEPCO the Sports Radio ninety three pointthree kJ r FM, eighteen yard line
of Oregon Dogs down by four.Snap Pennix to throw, goes for the
end zone off the left sideline,Who rob the jukeside? Houtstown, Washington

(00:26):
Dorward shoot up out of the schoolboard. What thirty eight to go and
the Huskies take the lead. AHeismith moment for Michael Pennix. He to
Roman Dukes, you know, reallywe wanted Dick to have ramadonsay on the
show just so we could play thatclip for him and have him hear it.
Yeah. Hey, here we are, Roma Dunsa with us now as

(00:49):
we are two days away from theNFL Draft, joining us on the radio
program Rome. How are you,man? What's going on? I'm doing
well. I'm doing well. No, that is definitely a good clip right
there. Always fun to hear,you know, Tony's penty the excitement.
So now I'm doing well, man, I'm out in Detroit figuring everything out
and I'm excited for for a Thursday, but just enjoying it all. I

(01:11):
love it. Well, we wantto talk about the draft. We want
to talk about kind of what you'regonna be doing during the draft. You'll
be there obviously with your family andfriends and all that stuff. But can
we put kind of a bow onthat play and just ask you what happened
on that play and why were youso confident and pre snapped that you could
score on that play? Oh?I mean, I think it was it

(01:33):
was just a spur of the moment, the type of play I think people
know. You know, I wasn'tthe main read on that play. We
had a whole nother concept on theother side of the field that Mike could
have could have read out. ButI think me and him just, you
know, throughout our connection and thenknowing that each other could make a play,
you know, on that down gaveus the confidence to go out there
and make something special happen. Andyou know, it's funny because you know,

(01:56):
we could have drained the clock alittle bit more, and you know,
going back and looking at it,you know, the game ended in
a great way, but it's ait's a fun play. To look back
on it, something that I alwaysshare is for sure, that's exactly where
I was gonna go with My nextquestion, is it just was banged the
polk banged to you touchdown was like, I mean, we were going nuts.
But then on the other hand,we're like, oh, crap,

(02:16):
bo Nix has got a lot oftime here, did you kind of once
you got to the sideline and afteryou were all fired up, you know,
and calm down a little bit,you realize you look up the clock
and say, oh, that's there'sthere's still a lot of ticks up there.
No, absolutely absolutely coming back andrealizing we kind of put a drain
in a little bit more. Butyou know, we had the confidence in
our defense to go out there andyou know, get a stop and make

(02:38):
play, you know, just likewe did on offense. So you know,
just just rooting them on, cheeringthem on and getting the getting the
crowd going. I'm sure that I'marety sure they had a couple third downs
on that drive, So just gettingeverybody pumped, making that hard for him.
Well, it's one of the greatestplays in Husky football history. I
mean, Dick and I were,you know, talking about it as far
as images go, Mario Bailey doingthe Heisman pos against Michigan back in ninety

(02:59):
two, and the rose ball weSteve Atman throwing his arms up in the
air against Arizona and then your touchdownthere against Oregon, and you saw this
on Twitter. Dick and I,during a break here went out and recreated
that photo. I played the roleof Evan Williams. Dick played the role
of Roman Doonzay. Who do youthink did it better you and Evan or
me and Dick Fane. I don'tknow. I mean, y'all, y'all

(03:21):
all right there with us on Brison. I mean I wish I could see
it with the full crowd. Ithink that's what me and me and my
Mike have over you guys. Honestlyis the full crowd them cheering. But
other than that, I mean it'spretty much on bar. Okay, then
we will photoshop the crowd, getyou a copy of it, and then
you give us your opinion. Okay, Okay, leave du oh Roma Doonzay
in my book the Greatest Husky WideReceiver of All Time joining us on ninety

(03:44):
three point three kJ RFF. Whatdid you think of Mike's letter he sent
out in the in the Player's Tribunethe couple days ago. Do you have
a chance to read that? Idid. I did. I thought it
was amazing, I really did.I think, you know, that's that's
kind of what you know. Ibelieved it them, you know from the
start as well, you know,just talking on his injuries and you know
how he's persevered to those things.That's the game of football. And I

(04:06):
think, you know, all thatshows you know exactly who he is and
what he brings to any team thatthat's lucky to draft him. And I
thought it was awesome. And thenhe ended up with like some some type
of battle rap bars and I waslike, oh my god, this guy.
I mean, he's just he's talented. And I think you know that
that letter showed everybody that he trulyis, you know, a rapper and

(04:27):
that he was really rapping on theOregon sideline because he's got some punchlines.
Well, I'd like to see himrecreate that rap by the way, that
freestyle and maybe maybe when Michael Penixmakes a Pro Bowl one day, SNL
will invite him on the air andhe can recreate it. For like SNL
on TV. But you got tohelp us, man, you got to
help us get him to recreate thaton Twitter or Facebook or ig or whatever

(04:49):
so everybody out there can see it. So we've never asked for anything from
you at all. All right,that's the one thing we need from you
to get Mike Pennix to recreate that. But rooma Dune says with us on
the air, let's talk about you. Man, two days away from the
biggest day of your life. Tellme about what this process has been like
for you and how antsy you areto get Thursday over with already. Oh,

(05:11):
I'm super super excited. I mean, the process has been a lot,
but you know, I've enjoyed everysingle you know transition of it.
You know, from going to Combineto training, you know, training for
Combine and then going in the meetingsand going into pro day, you know,
getting ready for the draft. It'sall been a tremendous experience. So
I'm super ready. I'm super excitedto be with my family and to see
you know, all the fits thatthey're you know, coming together with is
something I'm really looking forward to.And you know, seeing the smiles,

(05:32):
hopefully smiles on everybody's faces when whenthe moment goes down, and the experience
of the whole So I can't complain, man, I'm very grateful. How
many how much conversation do you havewith the other guys in your Husky graduating
class that are going through the samething that you're going with going through?
And then also how much communication doyou have with the the guys that came

(05:53):
before you, the dogs, youknow, the Buddha Baker era and those
guys where you just give them acall up and say, hey, you
know, how do I get throughthis? What's the best way to get
through this? Do you have alot of communication with those guys? Yeah,
I think you know, especially theguys in my draft class that you
do. We talk a good bit, just you know, enjoying the process,
seeing how everybody's doing, you know, especially those who are training with
me at the same agency. Youknow, we we've talked a lot.

(06:14):
But you know, I think weall have the same mindset, just you
know, enjoying the process, justdoing what we can to control the situation
and where we'll end up. Butthat and then also you know, I've
seen Buddha Baker with his tweet sayingI was wide receiver one which I appreciate,
appreciating so and so in love.And then I talked to a little
bit of Trent McDuffie. You know, he's talking to me about staying in
shape, you know, for fora rookie. Minnie camp Kyler Gordon sit

(06:38):
me up saying, you know,when I did my Bears visit, saying
you know, you know, welcometo the city and all those different things.
So yeah, the Husky you know, brotherhood you know extends from from
class to class, and it's somethingthat's deep. So all those guys have
uh, you know, reached outinvolvement, been in communication road with us
in Rome. Uh, obviously there'sa chance you get drafted super high on

(07:00):
Thursday. I mean I've seen youas highs number five in some in some
locks out there. But you mentionedTrent McDuffie there, and seeing you in
the Kansas City offense with Patrick Mahomesand Travis Kelcey and Andy Reid would be
an unbelievable spot for you to play. But that would mean they either fail
to thirty two or so are theytraded up to get you? So are

(07:21):
you more concerned? I guess forlack of a better term roam about where
you get drafted, what spot youget drafted, or what team and what
fit you end up with. Ithink it's a combination of the two,
honestly, because you know, Iwant to be you know, in the
best situation, but I also wantto be you know, drafted by as
well. So it's it's kind ofa combination of both, you know.

(07:45):
So so just you know, figuringout that landscape, trying to think of
the pros and cons of each situation. But also, you know, in
the back of my mind, I'mlike, man, wherever I go,
I'll make it work, you knowwhat I mean, because it's not like
I have the choice to make so, you know, just being ready for
any moment. Honestly, you mentionedthe visits Chicago. Where else have you
visited? What are some of theteams that have just really shown a lot

(08:05):
of interest in you, you know, talking to have visits with the Bears,
had visit with the Bears, Cardinals, Giants, and Jets, you
know, both had me on allof them had me on thirty visits.
So I feel like that, youknow, there's a lot of interest.
But I've talked to many teams,you know, that I have to talk
to the Raiders on hometown team.I've talked to you know, many teams

(08:28):
at the combine, so it's hardto tell. You know, they all
try and play it close to thevest, you know what I mean,
who exactly you know, they they'rethey're looking to go get but it's it's
been several teams that day. Well, you gotta tell us what those top
thirty visits are like, I mean, I I imagine are they are they
kind of like recruiting visits that youtook when you were in high school?

(08:50):
Are they different? How do theytreat you on those top thirty visits?
Man? You know, it's it'sdefinitely a good vibe. A lot of
good, good people around, youknow, you know people that are you
know, at the NFL level inorganization, all very you know, professional,
but good people as well. Andyou know a lot of you know,
winning mindsets and people who are determinedand hungry to you know, go
get their next Super Bowl. Soit's a lot of that, but it's

(09:13):
a lot less flash in the waywhere you you pull up. I mean,
you have facility. I got tosay, is got you know some
of some of these teams beat,you know, with the stadium, the
greatest setting the colleges, because youknow at the NFL levels, they don't
they don't, they don't need allthat. They just you know, they
got their weights, they got theirstadium, and and it is what it
is because they get to go pickguys. It's not like they're you know,
it's a recruiting tactic for them.So I think that's one of the

(09:35):
most interesting things. Well, afew more Mints were Roma Dunes before the
draft on Thursday. In Rome.We got a clip here we want to
play for you. All Right,we do a segment with a guy named
lant Zerline who works for the NFLnetwork NFL dot Com and he's with us
every week talking draft and we askedLance to give us his breakdown on you.
I want to play this clip foryou and then ask you if you
thought his scouting report was fair orunfair. So here's Lanton Zerline and talking

(10:00):
about Rome. Donsay, my highestgrade on my draft board this year's elite
neighbors. He's my number one rateof prospect. And I think Adunza I
believe is number five. Actually aDounsey I think is going to have a
really, really good career provided andyou know, my comparison on him is
Larry Fitzgerald. But I also thinkhe's got some DeAndre Hopkins in him.

(10:22):
Great ball winner, great size,physical plays to a size, tremendous football
character, tremendous personal character. Thecoaches on that staff raved about him.
I think the one thing I geta little concerned about is he cruises through
routes. He doesn't. He kindof is content to jump ball battles against
opposition. You can't do that inthe pros. You gotta play fast,
you gotta separate. So he's gotenough speed, he just has to learn

(10:46):
to play a little faster and becomea little bit more in tune with what
he needs to do. Is thata fair assessment? I mean, when
you hear something like that, room, what do you think, what's your
reaction to that. I wouldn't sayso. I wouldn't say so. I
think, you know, he gotsome of the things right on me in
regards to, you know, thethe athleticism and and the personality as well.

(11:07):
But I don't know, it seemslike he hasn't watched enough you know,
film or enough tape on on myyou know, wide receiver play as
a whole contested catches. I feelfor me is just you know, the
cherry on top of of a completewide receiver play. So you know,
he has his opinion that's all right, but I wouldn't agree with that at
all. No, go, it'llplay that form. Yeah, we will.

(11:30):
Most important question before we let yougo. I gotta I gotta get
a preview of the wardrobe for Thursdaynight. I mean, what what are
you going to be looking like onNational TV? Give me the head to
toe the head to toe? Now, I got to leave a little bit
for surprise, right, But I'mjust keeping it, keeping it simple honestly.
You know you're not going to seeany you know, crazy you know
fit for me that you know it'sgoing to be you know online or on

(11:52):
the internet afterwards, like man,what was he wearing? But hopefully gonna
look clean, you know, lookwith a little bit of flash, a
little bit of flair, and youknow, put my own little real style
on it. So but you know, color color wise, it'll be pretty
basic for sure. Yeah, weget a little purple, little purple somewhere,
a little purple somewhere. I'll tryand add that in for y'all.
Guys, Well, I tell youwhat I would do if I are you

(12:15):
not that you should listen to mewhen it comes to fashion. If if
Pennix isn't wearing his Heisman trophy jacket, yes, Thursday, once you grab
that sucker from I know, man, he's a high expectations for us,
for the Huskies when it comes tosuits, especially with the interiors. So
oh, man, I don't evenknow if I if I'm making an attempt
to do something like he did,but I know I'm I'm excited to walk

(12:39):
the red carpet and you know,enjoy the moment. But yeah, hopefully
looking good. Well, I'll tellyou what, man, and I mean
this in all honesty. As excitedas you are for Thursday, we are
excited as hell for you to watchyou go out there. Husky Nation,
Husky fans are so damn freaking proudof you. Man, the man that
you've become, the player that you'vebecome. Do us a favor. Don't
let the NFL change you for onebit, all right? You'd be who

(13:01):
you are, You do your thing, You go have a Hall of Fame
career, and then come back herewhen you're forty years old, and we'll
we'll maybe retire the number and putyour name up in the rafters here man.
So best of luck. Yeah,yeah, you know what. Listen,
you deserve it, man, becausepeople look at you for inspiration and
you have set a new standard hereat Washington for wide receivers. So congratulations

(13:22):
on all your success. Enjoy thehell out of Thursday. Go get them
and we'll talk down the road,all right, power, Thank you very
much. Appreciate you guys. Alwaysthe pleasure to be all with you guys,
and you know, shout out toall the fans you fans. I
love you guys. Appreciate it.Yeah, thank you. Go get them,
man. You bet ramadons with uson the here is there is there
a better ambassador for Husky football thanthat guy. It's my favorite wide receiver

(13:43):
of all time. As far asfavorite players, Husky players of all time,
top five, no question.