Aaron Odom Flips Commitment to Mississippi State from Louisville

Defensive end Aaron Odom's strange journey to find a college finally came to an end when he flipped his commitment again, this time going from Louisville to Mississippi State.  

According to Hugh Kellenberger of the Clarion-Ledger, Odom announced Wednesday his pledge to play at Mississippi State.

Mississippi State had to sweat out a drawn-out process with Odom, but the wait will be well worth it for head coach Dan Mullen. 

Coming out of Callaway Senior High School in Jackson, Mississippi, Odom is rated as a 4-star prospect who is the No. 1 defensive end from his home state, the No. 22 defensive end in the nation and the No. 251 player overall, per Scout.com.

Odom's Scout.com evaluation highlights his versatility as a pass-rusher as one reason he has such a high ceiling.

"Likely to play with his hand in the dirt at defensive end, but he could project as a stand-up linebacker in a 3-4 scheme," the report said. "Loves to get after the quarterback and he plays with a lot of energy. Can play high and he needs to improve shedding blockers, but he knows how to get up the field and close on the quarterback. Can set the edge and redirects well."

Odom had a long journey to reach the moment when he finally determined staying close to home was what he wanted to do. 

He had originally committed to Mississippi State in April 2016 before flipping to Louisville two weeks ago after the Cardinals hired Peter Sirmon as their defensive coordinator. Sirmon spent last season in the same job with the Bulldogs. 

As recently as last Thursday, Odom told Jody Demling of Scout.com he was "100 percent committed" and would be "signing with Louisville."

The nature of national signing day means nothing is official until the paperwork has been submitted. Odom had more time to think of his life-changing decision and landed on Mississippi State as the best spot for him to play football. 

Mullen and Mississippi State's entire defensive staff won't mind going through this process since it means Odom will line up on the Bulldogs defensive front for possibly the next four years.