COLUMBIA, MO. • Missouri coach Barry Odom doesn’t hide his affection for secondary coach Ryan Walters, whose assortment of responsibilities grows by the year at Mizzou.
Odom reunited with Walters in 2015 when Tigers coach Gary Pinkel hired Walters to lead the team’s safeties. Odom was already on staff as Pinkel’s defensive coordinator and clearly had input in Walters’ addition. Odom and Walters first crossed paths in 2010 when Walters was a graduate assistant at Arizona. They coached together at Memphis four years later.
When Odom replaced Pinkel as head coach after the 2015 season, there was never a doubt he’d retain Walters on staff.