He Wants to Be Leader of the Sack : College football: Carson native Mark Odom is closing in on Hawaii’s career record for sacks.

HONOLULU —  Mark Odom hasn’t done the hula yet. But don’t count it out.

Since 1987, when the Carson native arrived here to play outside linebacker for the University of Hawaii, he has been teaching islanders how to dance, Odom-style.

Odom’s spontaneous sack celebrations have become legendary at Hawaii’s Aloha Stadium.

And with 28 career sacks, Odom needs only six more to break the school record held by Al Noga (now with the Minnesota Vikings).

Hawaiians are hoping Odom will hula over a fallen quarterback after his record-breaking sack.

“I try to be calm,” Odom said. “But I just get carried away. I make a sack and then I jump up and make a fool of myself. Sometimes I wish I could change my number or something.”

Odom, who says he never sack-danced as a prep standout at Long Beach Poly High School, has showed islanders an array of moves. But the Rainbow fans have named a few of their Odom favorites:

* There is The Wrestling Referee , which Odom perfected last season when he sacked Brigham Young’s Ty Detmer, fell to his knees, and thumped the Aloha Stadium turf with his fists as if Detmer was down for the count.

* One of Odom’s most creative dances is The Death Lick , in which Odom makes a “skull and crossbones” sign with his fingers over the downed quarterback.

* A variation of that dance is The Mark of Odom , where Odom crosses his forearms.

* And then there is The Dance of Doom , a modified limbo with Odom’s arms waving hysterically over his head for punctuation.

“I make ‘em up as I go along,” Odom said. “They change from Saturday to Saturday. I don’t know what I’m doing half the time. It’s because football is fun for me . . . that’s the whole reason I play football.”

The choreography, Odom says, is unrehearsed.

“I’ve seen a lot of players celebrate their sacks, but not many with the . . . style that Mark has,” Hawaii Coach Bob Wagner said. “He must watch a lot of big-time wrestling.”

It all started in Hawaii’s first preseason game of 1987, and Odom was a freshman linebacker who had earned a starting job in a rebuilding defense. Five of the top six linebackers had graduated from a Hawaii defense that was ranked No. 5 in the nation the previous year.

“We had wanted to redshirt Mark that year,” Wagner said. “But he wouldn’t let us. He played too hard.”

In the first quarter of that game, Odom blindsided Yale quarterback Kelly Ryan and dumped him to the turf. Aloha Stadium’s crowd of 43,018 roared.

And a dance was born.

“I was so excited to get my first sack,” Odom said. “And then it just . . . happened.”

It has been happening since. Odom finished with 11 sacks in 1987, and Hawaii went 5-7.

In 1988, Odom was shifted to inside linebacker. Asked to stop the run, Odom recorded only one sack, but led the Rainbows with 110 tackles. Hawaii went 9-3.

But it was Odom’s junior season that put the happy dancer into the national spotlight.

Odom led the Western Athletic Conference in sacks with 13, was voted the conference’s defensive player of the year by the media and helped Hawaii to a 9-3-1 record and an Aloha Bowl appearance against Michigan State.

He had two sacks in Hawaii’s victory Sept. 22 at Utah. The Rainbows are 1-2, after opening losses to Texas A & M and Air Force.

“Mark gets off the ball real well and he plays extremely hard,” Wagner said. “We like to pressure the quarterback quite a bit here. We send five people at the quarterback a lot, and Mark is always at the front of it.”

Odom set the Hawaii record with four sacks of Detmer--the favorite to win this year’s Heisman Trophy--in the Rainbows’ 56-14 blowout of Brigham Young last season. On another play, Odom tackled Detmer and caused him to fumble.

“Detmer isn’t a big guy, but pound for pound he’s one of the toughest quarterbacks around,” Odom said. “I laid some real hits on him and every time he got right back up. On one play, I hit him square and put him on his back, but he still threw a 20-yard completion.”

Hawaii and Brigham Young meet in this season’s WAC finale. Odom plans to keep the pressure on Detmer.

“If you let him sit back there and get comfortable, he’ll just take you apart,” Odom said.

At 5-foot-11, 219 pounds, Odom is a cat-quick linebacker. But some scouts contend that he doesn’t have the height to play in the NFL.

“I think Mark has a shot at the NFL,” Wagner said. “Obviously, his lack of height is a liability, but with a guy like him it just might be a matter of timing and luck.”

A serious student, Odom is expected to graduate with honors in May from Hawaii’s school of business--one of the university’s most challenging programs. So Odom will have a degree--earned in four years--to fall back on if a career in pro football fails to materialize.

“Scouts are always hung up on things like height and weight,” Odom said. “I’ll just play hard and let things happen. I would say I could play on another level, but if I don’t get my shot, that’s fine.”

Mark Carrier, a friend and teammate of Odom’s from Long Beach Poly, is now a safety for the Chicago Bears after competing at USC. Odom used to watch Carrier play on television--since Hawaii’s games are at night and start late on the West Coast due to the time difference.

Watching college football all day gets Odom fired up for his games later that night.

“I couldn’t live without ESPN,” Odom said. “I watch sports all the time--everything from football to the world championships of table tennis.”

Then he gets in a dancing mood. Even Hawaii’s coaches don’t mind Odom’s displays of emotion.

“We don’t want to demean our opponents,” Wagner said. “But if a guy is playing hard and makes a great play, and is showing genuine enthusiasm, that’s great.”

Odom doesn’t figure to quit cutting the rug soon, either.

“Every now and then, my teammates make fun of me,” he said. “But they know I’m just having fun. As long as I keep doing my job and making sacks, I’ll be having fun.”