Browns' Isaiah McGuire has rep...

Barry Odom vowed to never forget the impact Browns rookie Isaiah McGuire had on the electricity bill at the University of Missouri.

The memory stems from Odom, the Missouri football team's head coach at the time, recruiting McGuire out of Union High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

When McGuire visited the Tigers during a one-day prospect camp the summer before his senior year at Union, he kept going through drills with defensive line coach Brick Haley after the session had ended.

McGuire had no interest in stopping.

“We couldn't get him off the field when camp was over,” Odom, now the head coach at UNLV, told the Beacon Journal in a recent phone interview. “He just wanted to continue to work.

“We had to keep the lights on for a long time for him because he was just continuing to try to develop his skills, and it was impressive to watch.”

Rookies and veteran players will practice together this week during Cleveland Browns OTAs

A combination of McGuire's dedication and talent allowed him to produce well as a Missouri defensive end and earn an NFL opportunity. The Browns drafted him in the fourth round (No. 126 overall) on April 29 and put him through the paces during rookie minicamp May 12-14.

McGuire and the rest of the 2023 Browns draft class will practice with veteran players for the first time during voluntary organized team activities. Cleveland's first set of OTAs will be held Tuesday through Thursday and represent a chance for McGuire to build relationships with top Browns defensive ends Myles Garrett, Za'Darius Smith and Ogbo Okoronkwo.

“He's going to learn from his environment and be able to find ways to apply [lessons from] those guys into his game,” Odom said. “He's got a tremendous competitive spirit, he's got a high football IQ and he's very versatile. I think all of those qualities will help him become a guy that will allow the Cleveland Browns to play really good defense and have a chance to compete for championships.”

Isaiah McGuire told relatives the Browns trading for Pro Bowl pass rusher Za'Darius Smith created an ideal situation for him

As McGuire watched film and studied the playbook in his hotel room during Browns rookie minicamp, he noticed either a tweet or an alert on his smartphone about the Browns acquiring Smith from the Minnesota Vikings.

“Seeing that and sending it to my family, [we were] talking about what a great opportunity it is for me as a young player adding that presence to the room,” McGuire said.

Isaiah McGuire's character separated the Cleveland Browns rookie from other players, even early in his Missouri career

Early signs pointed to success for McGuire because he's willing to grind behind the scenes.

“A lot of times guys that are recruited will go to camps and they don't want to work out, but Isaiah was different in that regard,” Odom said. “He wanted to spend as much time as he could with the position coach and watching him go through drills and really just his functioning as a defensive end — the body control, change of direction, the ability to lean, his hand placement, get off on the snap, all of those things at that point in his high school career — in our measurables of how we recruited, I thought he was one of the tops in the country.”

A positive attitude has seemingly helped McGuire reach the NFL. During rookie minicamp, he smiled and engaged with reporters throughout his media availability. On the practice field, he executed a cartwheel after excelling in a drill.

“He enjoys what he does,” Odom said. “He understands that his opportunity to be able to go compete at the highest level [comes with] responsibility, and I think he's on a mission to be a really, really good player.

“He was always a joy to be around, usually energetic, lit up the room when he walked in because of his personality.”

McGuire also kept Missouri lit up longer than usual as a high school visitor determined to stay on the field.