Washington
Washington WR Rome Odunze: ‘I Am the Best Receiver in this Class’
In 2023, Odunze finished second in the FBS in catches of 20-plus yards (32). And in the final three games of his college career – the Pac-12 Championship game, college football semifinal and championship – he delivered with 19 receptions for 314 yards.
“I make my money everywhere,” he said. “But last year I think it was a lot of back shoulder fades with Michael Penix and building that connection. But anywhere you put me on the field, I feel like I will go make a play.
“I think a lot of people underrate my speed and explosiveness that you can see on tape, and my separation as well. I don’t know where some of the narratives come from, but if you watch the entire tape you can see.”
NFL Network Draft Analyst Daniel Jeremiah listed Odunze as his No. 3 overall prospect and the second-best wide receiver in the class due to many traits including “exceptional hands.” In his last three years at Washington, Odunze recorded 24 touchdowns in 36 games including his one-handed TD grab against Washington State as a sophomore in 2020.
“Certain people call certain types of catches 50-50, but for me, it is 100-0,” Odunze said. “I think you have to go into it with that mindset that it is just you and the ball. The defender is not even there. If you go and elevate and snag the ball, then you will come down with it.”
In the event Odunze does end up with the Green & White, he could be a perfect fit for future Hall of Fame QB Aaron Rodgers. In Indianapolis, Odunze compared himself to Raiders WR Davante Adams, Rodgers’ former teammate in Green Bay. While playing with Rodgers in 2020 and 2021, Adams totaled 238 receptions for 2,927 yards and 29 touchdowns and helped the Jets’ signal caller earn back-to-back MVPs.
“I would say Davante Adams is my player comparison,” Odunze said. “I do a lot of his releases and model his technique. I am still trying to figure out how he is so twitchy, but I am getting there. With his size and his route running and his catchability, I like to compare myself to him.”
Could one of New York City’s most iconic parks soon be surrounded by gates?
At a Wednesday night meeting of the local Community Board’s Parks Committee, tensions ran high over whether or not to install locked gates at Washington Square Park.
The historic Washington Square Arch welcomes visitors from near and far to the park, but when the clock strikes midnight, the police and Parks Department put up French barricades, cross-chained together, until 6 a.m.
Some residents, however, said the barricades aren’t aesthetically pleasing.
“Now it’s time to replace the unattractive police barricades with appropriate gates that really represent the history of that park,” landscape architect George Vellonakis said.
Others said the barricades aren’t effective at keeping people out. One resident shared a photo of a person sleeping overnight on a mattress in the park.
Opponents, however, argued gates aren’t the answer to that issue, and some longtime residents said they hoped the park would be open 24/7.
“I think that the barricades have to go. I think they’re really, really ugly,” one person said. “They’re really hard for the Parks Department and the police to handle, and they don’t work.”
“Particularly Millennials and Gen Z will have these changes for the rest of their lives,” another person said. “I enjoy traveling other similar parks in Europe where you can walk at all hours of the night.”
Back in 2005, the Parks Department considered installing gates but canceled the plan after fierce opposition from the community. A Community Board member said the idea to install gates resurfaced during COVID when overnight gatherings in the park got out of hand.
“We are not anti-gate. We do believe that they should find more effective ways to support the NYPD,” Washington Square Association President Erica Sumner said.
The committee voted on a resolution to formally ask the Parks Department for its recommendations.
Kent, 28, joins the Nationals after he was claimed off waivers from the Minnesota Twins on
Protester scales Washington DC bridge, stays for days
A demonstrator protesting the war in Iran and the use of artificial intelligence climbed Frederick Douglass Bridge, and stayed for days.
Despite saying he would “soon” come down, a protester has remained on top of the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge in Washington, DC since May 1, impacting traffic and extending a dayslong standoff with police.
Guido Reichstadter climbed the 168-foot bridge Friday, then draped a black banner and set up a tent while making the bridge his home for the past four days.
Here’s what to know about Reichstadter’s protest and how it is affecting locals in the nation’s capital.
Why is there a man on top of the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge?
After Reichstadter climbed the bridge Friday, he identified himself as a protester, writing on X that he was “calling on the people of the United States to bring an immediate end to the Trump regime’s illegal war on Iran and the removal of the regime power through mass nonviolent direct action and non-cooperation.”
He has posted on X throughout his protest, reminding his followers of his cause as he thwarts attempts from the DC police to bring him down.
“The Trump regime occupying the office of the US executive is prosecuting a criminal war of aggression against the nation of Iran, enabled by the refusal of Congress to assert its constitutional power, and by the continued submission of the majority of the US population to this intolerable state of affairs without effective civil resistance,” he wrote on X, saying it’s the public’s responsibility to nonviolently put an end to Trump’s presidency.
Reichstadter said May 4 he hasn’t eaten for days, but previously told NewsNation he went on a 30-day hunger strike while protesting AI outside the Anthropic headquarters.
He has run out of water, however.
“I’ve got the stamina to stay up here a bit longer,” he told WTOP Monday.
What impact is the protest having in Washington, DC?
Reichstadter’s protest has caused lanes to shut down on the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge, but lanes had reopened for traffic late Monday morning.
Tuesday morning, all lanes were open for traffic, but the pedestrian walkway was closed, according to the Metropolitan Area Transportation Operations Coordination (MATOC) Program.
If he stays on top of the bridge into Tuesday night, it’s unclear how his protest could impact people traveling nearby to the Washington Nationals game.
“My efforts here have had impacts on the local community and its people, and it is my desire not to harm but to work in communication, to lift up and to contribute what strength I can to the ongoing struggle for rights and freedom which this community has been engaged in for years,” Reichstadter said Sunday.
Police said Monday that their negotiators will remain on the scene.
Mike Stunson is the DC Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network.
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