Buddy O'Dell was hired in the spring of 2025 as Vanderbilt football's director of recruiting strategy and transfer scouting.

Prior to his arrival in Nashville, O'Dell spent the 2025 college football season as the general manager at UTEP.

Before moving to the Sun City, O'Dell served as Austin Peay’s general manager for two seasons (2022-2023). While a Governor, O’Dell oversaw the personnel department and was involved in recruiting, roster building, scouting, scholarship allocation/management, personnel evaluation, compliance, and other various efforts. 
 
The Governors won a combined 16 games the last two seasons that O’Dell was on the staff. Austin Peay finished 9-3 overall and 6-0 in United Athletic Conference action, including a UAC Championship and FCS playoff berth in 2023. The Governors produced a school-record 17 All-UAC players last season. 
 
O’Dell’s collegiate career started at his alma mater Southern Miss where he was a student assistant and offensive quality control for four seasons (2015-2018). O’Dell’s professional football experience extends with the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens (2017) and the Green Bay Packers (2018-2020), and the Salt Lake City Stallions (2019) of the Alliance of American Football. 
 
O’Dell received his bachelor’s degree in sport coaching and education from the University of Southern Mississippi in 2017.