Baton Rouge, LA – Southern University announced that Dawson Odums will become its full-time head football coach on Friday after serving that same role in an interim capacity this past season.
Odums took over for Stump Mitchell after the latter was reassigned in September following two straight losses to begin the campaign. He registered a 4-5 record after the switch and guided the Jaguars to wins over rivals Jackson State, Florida A&M and Grambling State.
"Odums proved to be a capable leader through adverse times during the 2012 season, and accomplished much with little," said Southern athletics director William Broussard. "He led with purpose and vision, valued high character and discipline among his players and staff, and put our team in position to win in the fourth quarter in eight of the nine contests in which he served as head coach."
Odums had joined Mitchell's staff this past spring, starting as defensive line coach and then as defensive coordinator. The 1997 graduate of North Carolina Central also worked as the defensive coordinator at Division II Clark before becoming its interim head coach in 2004.
The North Carolina native has also had stops at George Washington, Georgia Southern and North Carolina A&T as an assistant coach and was a staff member on Georgia Southern's 2000 FCS national champion squad.
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