Why Kris O’Dowd is on this page

Kristofer O’Dowd (born 14 May 1988) is an American former college football player who anchored the offensive line for the University of Southern California Trojans. A native of Tucson, Arizona, he attended Salpointe Catholic High School, where as a senior he earned Parade All-American honours, EA Sports All-American first-team selection and a place in the 2007 U.S. Army All-American Bowl. He recorded ninety pancake blocks in his 2006 season alone.

At USC, the six-foot-five, three-hundred-pound O’Dowd became the first true freshman in Trojans history to start a game at centre — the previous true freshman to start an opener on the offensive line had been guard Travis Claridge against Penn State in 1996. His sophomore season earned him First-team All-Pac-10 honours in 2008. A kneecap injury before the 2009 season disrupted his junior year and his veteran teammate Jeff Byers covered the position in the season opener against San Jose State.

Considered the third-best centre prospect in the 2011 NFL draft, O’Dowd went undrafted and signed with the Arizona Cardinals as a free agent. He was released in September 2011; the New York Jets signed him in March 2012 and waived him in May; the Seattle Seahawks signed him in August 2012. He retired without making a regular-season NFL roster.

Sources

• Wikipedia — Kris O’Dowd (article).
• Wikidata Q6437262.

Heritage notes

Family root: diaspora-likely.

The directory threads Kris O’Dowd back to the Ó Dubhda clan story via the surname-variants reality — the same family carried these spellings as it scattered. See the septs and the diaspora for the wider pattern, or the Clan DNA Project for the genetic connections being mapped now.