Ex-Muscogee County star nominated for Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame
A former Muscogee County football star has been nominated and accepted on the ballot for the Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame.
Nate Odomes, who played quarterback for Carver High School in the 1980s, became an All-Big Ten cornerback at the University of Wisconsin and a two-time Pro Bowler (1992-93) and second-team All-Pro (1993) as a cornerback for the Buffalo Bills in the NFL.
Odomes is among the 33 new candidates on the 2026 ballot this year, GHSFHF historian Todd Holcomb told the Ledger-Enquirer. That increases the number of nominees eligible for induction this year to 100.
The top 32 vote-getters will be inducted this year. The 40-member selection committee, managed by the marketing company Score Atlanta, comprises former coaches, players, administrators and reporters.
Asked what the selection criteria is, Holcomb said, “It’s up to each voter to decide. Some make it more about their high school careers than others.”
This will be the fifth GHSFHF induction class. The enshrinement ceremony is scheduled for Oct. 24 at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.
Odomes was a dual-threat quarterback for Carver. He rushed for 1,083 yards and passed for 847 yards as a senior. He also was an outstanding punter, averaging 46 yards that season, according to Holcomb.
For the Wisconsin Badgers, Odomes led the Big Ten in interceptions with seven in 1986.
The Bills drafted Odomes in the second round of the 1987 NFL Draft. He led the NFL in interceptions with nine in 1993. He also helped Buffalo reach four straight Super Bowls in his seven seasons there.
Odomes signed with the Seattle Seahawks after the 1993 season, but a knee injury sidelined him for two years before playing his final NFL season with the Atlanta Falcons in 1996. He finished his NFL career with 26 interceptions in eight seasons.
Columbus/Muscogee County players remaining on ballot
Odomes joins several former players from Columbus/Muscogee County remaining on the ballot, listed with their senior year in parentheses:
- Spencer quarterback John Henry Jackson (1957)
- Spencer offensive guard and linebacker Wallace Davis (1962)
- Carver running back Jasper Sanks (1996).
The GHSFHF hasn’t set a time limit for the number of years a nominee may remain on the ballot. To submit a nomination, email Graham David and IJ Rosenberg of Score Atlanta at gdavid@scoreatl.com and ijrosenberg@scoreatl.com.
Inductees from Columbus/Muscogee County
Here are the four GHSFHF inductees from Columbus/Muscogee County, with their senior year in parentheses:
Class of 2025
Isaiah Crowell of Carver (2010)
Class of 2023
Ernie Green of Spencer (1957)
Jarvis Jones of Carver (2008)
Class of 2022
Otis Sistrunk of Spencer (1964).
