ODU Football Notebook: Signing Day, additions to future schedules

ODU adds 11 to Class of 2023

ODU football signed 11 student-athletes on the second National Signing Day of the 2022-2023 offseason.

The overall class of 23 prep commits in the Class of 2023 ranks 123rd nationally.

“I am extremely excited to add this infusion of talent to our program. Between the two Signing Days, we were able to add 29 players with multiple players at every position,” Rahne said. “While we are still not done making our roster even better for the upcoming season, this was a fantastic start to building a talented foundation.”

Below are the players that signed on Wednesday.

Caleb Bryant – 6-7, 253 – OL – Philadelphia, Pa./Camden (N.J.) 
Helped lead Camden to a 10-3 record and advance to the New Jersey state semifinals.

A’Quan Dunbar – 6-6, 260 – TE – Overland Park, Kan./Shawnee Mission South (Kan.) 
A three-star recruit by 247sports … Earned first-team All-State honors at tight end … Named to the All-Simone Team, awarded to the most outstanding players in Greater Kansas City … Named first-team All-Conference … A finalist for the Otis Taylor Award given to the top player in Kansas City area … Caught 54 passes for 829 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Spencer Dow – 6-2, 292 – OL – Park Ridge, Ill./Maine South 
Helped Maine South to a 9-3 record and advance to the third round of the state playoffs.

Jordan Holmes – 5-11, 155 – CB – Mims, Fla./Cocoa 
A three-star recruit by 247sports … As a junior, helped Cocoa to an 11-2 record and berth in the state championship game … Notched 54 tackles, five pass breakups and a sack … As a senior helped lead Cocoa to an 11-3 season and state championship … Notched eight tackles and a pair of pass breakups in the title game.

Colton Joseph – 6-2, 205 – QB – Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor 
A three-star recruit by 247sports … Completed 209-of-344 for 3,189 yards, and a school record 41 touchdowns as a senior … Helped lead Newport Harbor to an 8-5 record and berth in the quarterfinals of the state playoffs.

Trenton Kintigh – 6-1, 265 – DL – North Port, Fla./Venice 
As a junior in 2021, helped lead Venice to a state championship, recording 85 tackles, eight tackles for loss and five sacks … As a senior, played in nine games and registered 73 tackles and five tackles for loss.

TJ Lott – 5-11, 160 – WR – Loxahatee, Fla./Inlet Grove Community 
A three-star recruit by 247sports … Recorded 35 tackles, two passes defended and recovered a fumble as a senior … Caught 22 passes for 439 yards and five touchdowns.

Deandre Lynch – 6-3, 294 – DL – Rocky Mount, N.C./Rocky Mount 
Named Defensive MVP of the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas All-Star Football game, recording five tackles and a sack.

Ryan Ramey – 5-9, 176 – CB – Missouri City, Texas/Ridge Point 
Named to the Class 6 A Super Elite Team … Earned first-team All-District and first-team Academic All-District … Recorded 43 tackles, 12 pass breakups, two forced fumble and two blocked kicks as a senior … Helped Ridge Point to a 10-3 record and advance to the third round of the state playoffs.

Rasheed Reason – 5-10, 160 – Vallejo, Calif./Vallejo/Diablo Valley College 
A finalist for Times-Herald Athlete of the Year as a senior at Vallejo High School … In his career at Vallejo, recorded 59 tackles, seven interceptions and four fumble recoveries … Notched 32 tackles and four picks as a senior … Rushed for 902 yards, 565 receiving yards and 17 touchdowns as a senior … Recorded five tackles, a tackle for loss and one pass breakup this season at Diablo Valley College.

Sayyid Stevens – 6-1, 228 – DE – Midway, Ga./Calvary Day School/Duke 
Played in 30 career games at Duke, making one start … Recorded 22 tackles and one quarterback hurry … A three-star recruit by 247sports out of high school … A two-time first-team all-state honoree … Registered totaled 69 tackles, 15.0 TFL, 6.0 sacks, an INT, two fumble recoveries and three caused fumbles as a senior.

Monarchs add FCS games to future schedules

Old Dominion has added four football home games against FCS schools to future schedules, including contests with Hampton Roads neighbors Norfolk State in 2026 and William & Mary in 2029.
In addition, ODU added games with Texas A&M University-Commerce in 2023 and North Carolina Central in 2025.

Texas A&M-Commerce replaces a home game originally scheduled with Buffalo on Sept. 23, 2023.

Both programs mutually agreed to cancel that game, which will not be rescheduled.

These games are in addition to upcoming non-conference schedules that include nine games against Virginia Tech, five against East Carolina, four against Army, three against Liberty, and single games with Virginia, Wake Forest, Indiana and South Carolina on the horizon over the next 11 seasons.

“We’re always excited about the challenge of playing our schedule (against Power 5 schools) and the fact that we get to play some of these teams at home,” Rahne said. “But I also think it’s great for our kids to play some different teams. And if you look at our schedule, there has been some repetition to the non-conference schedule. Adding some different schools just helps add a little spice.”