Cody Hodges
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Cody Hodges (born November 20, 1982) is a philanthropist, motivational speaker, and former professional
American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...
player, playing in the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
(NFL),
Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...
(AFL), and the Arena League 2. Hodges is best known for his one season as the starting
quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...
for the
Texas Tech Red Raiders The Texas Tech Red Raiders and Lady Raiders are the athletic teams that represent Texas Tech University, located in Lubbock, Texas, United States. The women's basketball team uses the name Lady Raiders, while the school's other women's teams us ...
during the 2005 seasonbr>
As a fifth year Senior, he led the nation in passing and total offense and an appearance in the 2006
Cotton Bowl Classic The Cotton Bowl Classic (also known as the Cotton Bowl) is an American college football bowl game played annually in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex since January 1, 1937. The game was originally played at its Cotton Bowl (stadium), namesake ...
and a 9–3 overall record. He was the 3rd straight fifth year senior to start for Mike Leach and Texas Tech and was also the second of 4 West Texas natives to take the quarterback reins in the Leach era, along with predecessor
Sonny Cumbie Sonny Jack Cumbie (born August 8, 1981) is an American football coach and former quarterback. He currently serves as the head football coach at Louisiana Tech University, a position he has held since the 2022 season. Cumbie previously served as ...
and successors Taylor Potts and
Seth Doege Seth Colton Doege (born December 18, 1988) is an American college football coach and former quarterback, who is the current offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Arizona Wildcats football, Arizona Wildcats. After playing college f ...
.


Early life

Hodges was born to Steve and Sharon Hodges in
Amarillo, Texas Amarillo ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Potter County, Texas, Potter County, though most of the southern half of the city extends into Randall County, Texas, Randall County ...
, and was raised in
Hereford, Texas Hereford ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Deaf Smith County, Texas, United States. It is 48 miles southwest of Amarillo, Texas, Amarillo. Its population was 14,972 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is the only incorporated ...
, located in the Texas Panhandle. Hodges played high school football at Hereford High School, where he was a 4-year letterman in football and a standout in basketball. He threw for 2,458 yards and 28 touchdowns in 2000 as a senior. He ended his prep career with a 22-4 record as starting quarterback and accounted for 70 touchdown passes and 6,500 passing yards over four years and ran for 30 touchdowns during that time. Hodges was also a two-time 3-4A District MVP. Hodges was named Amarillo Globe-News Newcomer of the Year in 1997, Amarillo Globe-News Player of the Year his Junior and Senior years, and was also named All-South Plains Player of the Year in 2000. He was named to the Second-team all-state in 1999. Hodges was named to the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal Top 100 players and was ranked by Lonestar.com as one of the top 100 quarterbacks in the nation. Despite his stellar high school career, Hodges was only offered scholarships by two FBS schools,
Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public university, public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship instit ...
and The University of Wyoming. Hodges accepted a scholarship from Texas Tech coach Mike Leach.


Early college career, 2001–2004

Hodges
redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...
his first year at
Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship institution of the five- ...
in 2001. He made his career debut against
Baylor University Baylor University is a Private university, private Baptist research university in Waco, Texas, United States. It was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Te ...
as a redshirt Freshman in 2002, completing 1 pass for 10 yards. Hodges served as backup for 4 years, backing up
Kliff Kingsbury Kliff Timothy Kingsbury (born August 9, 1979) is an American professional American football, football coach and former quarterback who is the offensive coordinator for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played c ...
,
B. J. Symons Brian Jeffrey Symons (born November 19, 1980) is an American former professional football quarterback. Symons played for the Houston Texans and Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL), the Frankfurt Galaxy (NFL Europe), Frankfurt Gala ...
, and
Sonny Cumbie Sonny Jack Cumbie (born August 8, 1981) is an American football coach and former quarterback. He currently serves as the head football coach at Louisiana Tech University, a position he has held since the 2022 season. Cumbie previously served as ...
. Hodges moved up a slot in the depth chart every single year. From 2001-2004 Hodges appeared in 7 games, completing 8 passes out of 12 attempts for 70 yards and 2 touchdowns, completing 67 percent of his passes. He also rushed for 33 yards on 3 attempts.


2005 season

Hodges won the starting Quarterback job for the 2005 season, winning a hard fought battle over highly touted redshirt freshman
Graham Harrell Graham Stanton Harrell (born May 22, 1985) is an American football coach and former quarterback. He played college football for Texas Tech Red Raiders football, Texas Tech Red Raiders from 2004 to 2008. He played in the Canadian Football League ...
. He started out the year in stellar fashion, putting up big time numbers in blowout wins over
Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Westchester, Florida, United States. Founded in 1965 by the Florida Legislature, the school opened to students in 1972. FIU is the third-largest univ ...
56-3,
Indiana State University Indiana State University (ISU) is a public university in Terre Haute, Indiana, United States. It was founded in 1865 and offers over 100 undergraduate majors and more than 75 graduate and professional programs. Indiana State is classified ...
63-7, and
Sam Houston State University Sam Houston State University (Sam Houston, SHSU or Sam) is a public research university in Huntsville, Texas, United States. Founded in 1879, it is the third-oldest public college or university in Texas. It is one of the first normal schools wes ...
80-21. Hodges drew controversy after the win against SHSU by saying that he believed Tech's offense was good enough to "score 100 points." Big 12 play started and he led the Red Raiders to a win over Kansas 30-17. The Red Raiders then traveled to
Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The city covers and had a population of 291,082 as of the 2020 census. It is the state's List of cities in Nebraska, second-most populous city a ...
to play the
University of Nebraska A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...
Cornhuskers. The Huskers were playing on their homecoming day and were looking to take revenge for being humiliated by Tech the previous year in Lubbock by giving up 70 points. Hodges led the Raiders on a game-winning drive and threw a 10-yard touchdown pass on 4th down to win the game and snap Nebraska's 36 year homecoming winning streak. Hodges had a career day the next week as Tech beat Kansas State, 59-20. Hodges threw for 646 yards for a career best. After the big win against Nebraska and the career day against KSU, Hodges led the Red Raiders, ranked in the top 10 for the first time under Mike Leach, to
Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...
to face off with the eventual national champion Texas Longhorns led by
Vince Young Vincent Paul Young Jr. (born May 18, 1983) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for six seasons in the National Football League (NFL). Young was selected by the Tennessee Titans as the third overall pick in th ...
. Hodges had the Raiders in an early lead in Austin, but could not keep up the momentum as Tech suffered their first loss, 52-17. Tech rebounded with wins over rivals Baylor 28-0, and Texas A&M 56-17. Tech later lost on a BCS bowl bid by being upset by a 4 win Oklahoma State team, 24-17. The Raiders rebounded to defeat Oklahoma 23-21 in another close and exciting game with Hodges leading the Raiders on the final drive, giving the Red Raiders a regular season record of 9-2, and a Big 12 record of 6-2, giving them second place overall in the Big 12 and an invitation to the Cotton Bowl. Hodges finished the regular season first in the nation in passing, making him the 4th consecutive Tech QB to do so.


2006 Cotton Bowl Classic

Hodges led the 9-2 (6-2 in Big 12 play) Red Raiders, ranked #18 in the AP Poll and #1 in total offense, to the 2006 Cotton Bowl Classic to play the #13
Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the Na ...
, ranking #1 in scoring defense and #2 in total defense. Hodges, statistically, had his worst game as a starter, completing only 15 of 32 passes for 196 yards and one touchdown. He was also Tech's leading rusher, gaining 66 yards on 17 carries. Texas Tech eventually lost 13-10 and ended the season with a 9–3 overall record and #20 in the AP Poll. Hodges finished his career at Tech completing 360 passes out of 543 attempts for 4,267 yards with 33 passing touchdowns and 13 interceptions. He also rushed for 224 career yards and 3 rushing touchdowns. Hodges was noted to be the best running quarterback Tech had, and also his passing form, in which he threw his passes without the aid of the laces of the Football.


Professional career


Tennessee Titans

Despite a successful 2005 season, Hodges went undrafted in the
2006 NFL draft The 2006 NFL draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with additional coverage offe ...
. However, Hodges was signed by the
Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...
. He came second to the top pick of the
Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...
Vince Young Vincent Paul Young Jr. (born May 18, 1983) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for six seasons in the National Football League (NFL). Young was selected by the Tennessee Titans as the third overall pick in th ...
and was Young's back-up at quarterback. Hodges performed well in the pre-season, but was released when the Titans signed
Kerry Collins Kerry Michael Collins (born December 30, 1972) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons. Collins was a member of six NFL teams, most notably the Carolina Panth ...
to back up Young.


Arena League

Hodges signed in 2006 as the quarterback for the
Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz The Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz were an arena football team. The team began play as a 2004 expansion team of the Arena Football League's minor league af2 before becoming a member of the AFL in 2010. Formerly a tenant of the Ford Center from 2004 ...
of
af2 The AF2 (often styled as af2, and short for arenafootball2) was the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like its parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football r ...
. He was traded in 2007, to the
Fort Wayne Fusion The Fort Wayne Fusion was a 2007 af2 (Arena Football League's minor league) expansion team in the Midwest Division of the American Conference. They played their home games at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana, which w ...
. Hodges was named the '' Schutt Offensive Player of the Game'' during Week 1 of the af2 season for his performance against the
Green Bay Blizzard The Green Bay Blizzard are a professional indoor football team based in the Green Bay metropolitan area that competes in the Indoor Football League (IFL). The franchise was founded in 2003. The Blizzard began play in the IFL in 2010, after hav ...
. He later ended his season due to injury. Despite a successful AFL career, Hodges retired from playing Football in 2008.


Rachel's Challenge work

Hodges, having viewed a presentation from
Rachel's Challenge Rachel's Challenge is an organization in the United States that works to reduce violence. It is a non-religious, non-profit, non-political organization, led by Darrell Scott and his wife Sandy. Rachel Scott was the first student to be killed in t ...
, an organization dedicated to abolishing
prejudice Prejudice can be an affect (psychology), affective feeling towards a person based on their perceived In-group and out-group, social group membership. The word is often used to refer to a preconceived (usually unfavourable) evaluation or classifi ...
and promoting kindness and good deeds, was inspired to join the organization as a speaker at age 20. After his professional football career ended, he joined Rachel's Challenge as a full-time motivational speaker and engaging in philanthropy on behalf of the organization as well. Hodges frequents smaller High Schools in rural towns across America to spread the message of kindness to others.


Personal

Hodges is married, and lives in the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex, when not traveling the country with Rachel's challenge. His father played football at the
University of Houston The University of Houston (; ) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, a coeducational institution and one of multiple junior colleges formed in ...
. He also has a twin brother, Slade Hodges, who played slot receiver for Texas Tech in the same years as his brother. Cody completed a 10-yard pass to his brother during the 2005 Texas Tech-Texas A&M game, and later watched from the sidelines as his brother caught a touchdown in the 4th quarter of the same game.


References


External links


Cody Hodges Bio at Texas Tech Athletics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hodges, Cody 1982 births Living people Players of American football from Amarillo, Texas American football quarterbacks Texas Tech Red Raiders football players Tennessee Titans players Fort Wayne Fusion players Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz players People from Hereford, Texas