After a successful college career with the Washington Huskies, Rome Odunze went on to join Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears, being selected ninth overall in the 2024 NFL Draft.
As a high school senior in 2019, Odunze was the Nevada Gatorade Football Player of the Year out of Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, the same school that recently produced Cleveland Browns draft picks Cedric Tillman and Dorian Thompson-Robinson, along with Houston Texans tight end Brevin Jordan.
Odunze was a national championship runner-up with Washington in 2024 and put up 3,272 receiving yards and 24 touchdowns during his four seasons with the Huskies. He was a consensus All-American in 2023 and received first-team All-Pac-12 honors in 2022 and 2023.
Right away, Odunze received playing time and played in all four games during the shortened 2020 COVID-19 season, tallying six receptions for 72 yards. His college production would increase every year, becoming a permanent starter in 2022.
On top of his success as a receiver, during his final two seasons, Odunze was sometimes utilized as a kick returner and was featured out of the backfield. He rushed for two touchdowns and has a kick-return touchdown in college as well.
But behind every young, blossoming athlete is a strong supporting cast, including parents who are supportive and nurturing. Let’s get to know Odunze’s parents.
A Look At Rome Odunze’s Parents
James Odunze and Necia Bunnell welcomed their son into the world on June 3, 2002.
Getting To Know Odunze’s Father
While there’s not too much public information on James, we know that he’s responsible for naming his son after his strong passion for history, particularly the Roman Empire.
“My pops just really liked the Roman Empire, with some of the key, cool things within it,” Odunze said. “In how far and expanded in some of the things they do and some of the cultural influence they’ve had on the world.”
Odunze, who says his name means “King’s Ivory,” has been open about his heritage and how it’s shaped him to be the person that he is today. The American-born player is of Nigerian descent on his father’s side, which he says “means everything to [him].”
“Back home, my grandfather was one of 50 kids,” Odunze told The Pivot Podcast. “My pops, that side of the family, is Nigerian heritage. It’s something that really drives me to keep doing what I’m doing because that’s where you come from.”
“African Americans sometimes don’t often know where they come from,” he continued. “So for me, I feel super blessed that I know where I come from. I know the village that my grandpa grew up in… it’s about honoring them.”
“Coming over here in America with nothing in your pocket and then having your grandson on this stage,” he said, adding, “I just feel like we’ve been tremendously blessed and it’s my duty to keep uplifting the name.”
Getting To Know Odunze’s Mother
While some mothers are hard to find details about because of a lack of online presence, Odunze’s mother is a prominent and well-known real estate agent in the Las Vegas area.
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Bunnell works for Coldwell Banker Premier Realty in Nevada and has two websites registered for her real estate businesses, along with an active Instagram page highlighting new listings and some photos featuring her family.
Odunze often speaks about his work ethic in interviews, citing certain past experiences that shaped him to be the person that he is today. Particularly, he credits the summers he spent working on his mom’s family farm that taught him “how to grind.”
“Going there in the summers and farming is no joke. Taking care of animals when that’s your job and that’s what puts food on the table, it’s different because you’re dealing with living creatures.”
“My grandpa was waking up at 5:00 a.m. and staying up until 11:00 p.m. at night just feeding these animals and taking care of them,” he noted. “The work is the work. There’s just no room for excuses or else the whole thing crumbles… it was super humbling.”
Does Odunze Have any Siblings?
According to some social media posts, it appears that Odunze does have a few siblings.
Odunze’s brothers are named Promise Odunze and Christian Vaughn, but not much is publicly known about them.