Why Elite College Football Talent Is Suddenly Looking Beyond Tradition
The West Coast exodus is no longer just a message board buzz phrase; it is reshaping the recruiting map in real time. Programs like Oklahoma and Notre Dame are raiding California for blue-chip skill talent and building national brands that resonate far beyond their home zip codes. Four-star wide receiver Daniel Odom of St. John Bosco in Bellflower, California, is committed to Oklahoma in the 2026 class, while four-star safety Khalil Terry of Tustin High has just pledged to Notre Dame’s 2027 haul. These prospects chose to leave their home state despite heavy interest from traditional West Coast powers, underscoring how NIL opportunities, national television windows, and College Football Playoff access have flattened regional boundaries. For Oklahoma and Notre Dame, these additions are not just wins on the trail; they are statements that their brands travel as well as any program in the sport.
Daniel Odom Gives Oklahoma a California Playmaker
Odom is the prototype of the modern perimeter weapon Oklahoma wants in its post-Big 12, SEC era. The six-foot-two, 180-pound wideout is a consensus four-star prospect and a top 10 receiver nationally in some industry rankings, with offers from Texas and Oregon before he chose the Sooners. At powerhouse St. John Bosco, he stacked back-to-back impact seasons, posting 36 receptions for 548 yards and seven touchdowns as a sophomore, then 45 catches for 682 yards and five scores as a junior against one of the toughest schedules in the country. Oklahoma’s 2026 class currently sits in the thirties nationally and around the middle of the SEC pecking order, and Odom has at times been the lone wide receiver pledge in that group, making him a foundational piece of the passing game of the future. He projects as a boundary receiver who can win slants and digs in traffic, stretch the field off play action, and give whichever quarterback is under center a reliable third-down target from day one. On the NIL front, industry trackers list a projected valuation for Odom, but the exact figure remains unavailable, and no formal deals have been publicly announced, leaving most of his brand upside to be realized once he steps into the SEC spotlight.
Khalil Terry Supercharges Notre Dame’s 2027 Secondary
If Odom is an offensive headliner, Terry is the kind of defensive chess piece Notre Dame has been craving on the back end. The blue-chip prospect from Tustin stands around six feet and 185 pounds, and he chose the Irish over offers from USC, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, and Ohio State, immediately becoming commitment number six in a 2027 class that already sits third nationally by 247Sports. Terry is billed as a hybrid safety with high football IQ, fluid coverage skills, and real striking power; he has been clocked at 20.3 miles per hour on Catapult GPS in game action, a number that pops even among elite peers. His versatility allows Marcus Freeman’s staff to roll him down into the box, match up with big slots, or roam as a deep middle eraser in their multiple coverage structures. Notre Dame has quietly become a destination for California defenders, adding players like linebacker Madden Faraimo out of JSerra Catholic in a recent class, and Terry continues that trend as a potential tone setter in South Bend. On3’s class industry comparison page lists a projected NIL value of about $40,000 for Notre Dame’s 2027 commitments, with an average around $39,000, highlighting the kind of structured, school-aligned NIL ecosystem Terry will step into even though his specific contract terms are not public.
What the Exodus Means and What Comes Next
For California powers, losing prospects like Odom and Terry is a warning light that conference realignment and NIL have permanently altered home-field advantage. Programs such as USC, UCLA, and the remaining West Coast brands can no longer assume proximity will close the deal when Midwestern and Southern powers are selling national schedules, playoff paths, and increasingly sophisticated NIL collectives. For Oklahoma, landing Odom is another piece of evidence that its Emmett Jones-led receiver recruiting can stretch from Texas to the Pacific, and his production profile suggests he can be a multiyear starter who helps the Sooners keep pace in a track meet league. For Notre Dame, Terry’s commitment continues a run that has the Irish positioned for a rare back-to-back stretch of top-five-level recruiting classes, and he profiles as a future captain type who can anchor a secondary built to handle the bigger, faster playoff offenses of the late decade. The broader trend is clear; if NIL valuations, national TV exposure, and playoff access skew toward national brands, expect more California headliners to treat the West Coast as home and the rest of the country as their playing field. For Oklahoma and Notre Dame, that West Coast exodus is less a problem than a pipeline they are perfectly positioned to exploit.
