Happy birthday

Arkansas defensive coordinator Barry Odom celebrated his 45th birthday with a victory over his alma mater and former employer.

Odom was a linebacker at Missouri from 1996-99 and held a variety of jobs on Gary Pinkel’s staff, including defensive coordinator from 2012-14 before replacing Pinkel as the Tigers’ head coach in 2015.

Odom was fired after the 2019 season after leading Missouri to a 25-25 record, including 4-0 against Arkansas.

“I want to say I’m very happy for Coach Odom,” Arkansas Coach Sam Pittman said. “I don’t really want to talk about the situation [his firing at Missouri], but I am very, very happy for him and our football team.”

Pittman said he gave a game ball to linebacker Grant Morgan and safety Joe Foucha and asked them to present it to Odom, which they did.

“They stood up and talked about what Coach Odom means to them, and certainly we did give him the game ball,” Pittman said. “He deserved it.”

Friday’s victory had to be especially satisfying for Odom after Missouri beat Arkansas 50-48 last season on a field goal on the game’s final play.

“I’m very happy for Coach Odom,” senior linebacker Hayden Henry said. “I said in [interviews] this week that’s he’s a stonecold killer and he’s the spear of our team — the tip of the spear.

“The guy is just a legend and he brings it every day. I couldn’t be happier for him. I mean, it’s his birthday today and we went out and beat his — you know the history there — went out and beat Missouri.

“We got that win for him. I was happy that he got the game ball. I was happy to see him excited about that.”