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ON THE CLOCK — While all eyes were on his new teammate Caleb Williams when the Chicago Bears selected Williams with the No. 1 pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, former Washington receiver Rome Odunze was happy to fade into the background — at least as much as the No. 9 overall pick can "fade."
Truth be told, he was hoping to call Provo soon.
Odunze, a consensus All-American for the Huskies last year, made his first phone call via FaceTime with his maternal grandfather, Wayne Bunnell, who lives in Utah.
The 6-foot-3 wide receiver, who was named after the Roman Empire thanks to his father's love of history, was born in Orem but moved with his family to Las Vegas at the age of 3. Growing up, Odunze would often visit his grandparents, Wayne and Helen Bunnell, on their Provo farm in the summer.
So when Odunze was drafted, his first call was to Bunnell, who couldn't travel to the draft in Detroit after suffering a traumatic brain injury in a bicycle accident in 2016. But he wanted to know where his grandson would be playing football next year.
Through a partnership with Verizon, Odunze let the world in on his conversation with Grandpa on his Instagram.
"I just wanted to call and see your face, and tell you thank you for all that you did to get me here," Odunze said on the call. "I'll be able to take care of us ... I'll get you something nice, don't worry, Grandpa."
Odunze credits his grandfather's work ethic for instilling a model of success that led him to the NFL draft.
"My family, my mother, my pops, where I come from, we're all hardworking and determined people with tenacity," he told USA Today. "It was naturally instilled in me as a young man and continues to be instilled in me to this day."
The NFL draft continued Saturday on ESPN and the NFL Network.
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