Reginald Aaron Hodges (born January 26, 1982) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

punter. He was selected by the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...

in the sixth round of the

2005 NFL draft The 2005 NFL draft, the 70th in league history, took place on April 23 and 24, 2005 NFL season, 2005. The draft was held at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City and was televised for the 26th consecutive year, with coverage on E ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Ball State Ball State University (Ball State or BSU) is a public university, public research university in Muncie, Indiana, United States. The university has three off-campus centers in Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Indiana, Fort Wayne, and Fishers, Indiana. T ...

. Hodges was also a member of the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

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 ...

, and

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

Early life

Hodges earned First-team All-state honors in Illinois as a senior at Centennial High School, averaging 39.4 yards per punt.

College career

Hodges took over punting duties as a freshman at Ball State, going on to set a school-career record with 254 attempts. His 10,210 yards ranked second in school history at the time of his graduation. He was named First-team All-MAC selection as a senior, leading conference with 73 punts (42.6 avg).

Professional career

St. Louis Rams

The

selected Hodges in the sixth round (210th overall) of the

. He was signed to a three-year contract on July 27, 2005. Hodges won the Rams' punting job out of training camp, beating out veteran Bryan Barker. Hodges went on to appear in five games for the Rams, averaging 38.0 yards and 31.0 net yards in 22 attempts. Hodges' poor performance caused the team to release him on October 10 and re-sign Barker for the remainder of the season.

Philadelphia Eagles

On November 2, 2005,

head coach

Andy Reid Andrew Walter Reid (born March 19, 1958) is an American professional American football, football coach who is the head coach for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). Reid was previously the head coach of the Philadelphi ...

said the team would sign Hodges to replace Dirk Johnson, who was out with a hernia. Hodges appeared in three games for the Eagles, averaging 36.8 yards in 19 punts with one blocked. He was waived by the team November 22. He spent the rest of the 2005 season out of football. The Eagles re-signed Hodges to a two-year future contract on January 13, 2006. The deal included base salaries of $310,000 (2006) and $385,000 (2007). However, he did not play in the team's first preseason game and was waived on August 8.

Indianapolis Colts

On August 18, 2006, the

signed Hodges, however he failed to beat out longtime Colts punter Hunter Smith for the job and was released on September 3. He spent the 2006 season out of football. The Colts re-signed Hodges to a three-year contract on February 23, 2007. He again lost out to Smith for the Colts' punting job, failing to appear in the team's first two preseason games before being released on August 23. He spent the season out of football.

Seattle Seahawks

After failing to make an NFL team for each of the past two seasons, Hodges signed with the

on April 11, 2008. He was released by the team on August 30 during final cuts.

New England Patriots

On September 4, 2008, Hodges was signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

of the

. He was waived from it on September 7, 2008.

New York Jets

On September 17, 2008, Hodges was signed by the Jets to replace former punter Ben Graham, who was cut the day before. The Jets waived Hodges on April 27, 2009, and he was replaced by Eric Wilbur. He was re-signed on June 10, 2009.

Tennessee Titans

On September 23, 2009, Hodges was signed by the

to replace punter

Craig Hentrich Craig Hentrich (; born May 18, 1971) is an American former professional football player who was a punter for 17 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. He was selected by t ...

. He was waived on October 27.

Cleveland Browns

Hodges was signed by the

on November 15, 2009, after punter

Dave Zastudil David Michael Zastudil (born October 26, 1978) is an American former professional football player who was a punter in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ohio Bobcats, and was selected in the fourth round o ...

was listed as inactive for the game against the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

. Zastudil was later placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

on November 18, making Hodges the only punter on the roster. Zastudil was again placed on injured reserve on August 17, 2010, after the knee recovered poorly from surgery. During the Browns' October 24, 2010, game against the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

, Hodges took a fake punt and ran it 68 yards to the Saints' 10-yard line. This run is currently the longest run by a punter in NFL history, and it was the longest run by a member of the Cleveland Browns during the 2010 season. On November 27, 2010, Hodges signed a 2-year deal, keeping him with the Browns through 2012. On August 2, 2011, while practicing at the

Training Facility in

Berea, Ohio Berea ( ) is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. The population was 18,545 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A western suburb of Cleveland, it is a part of the Greater Cleveland, Cleveland metropolitan area. Berea is home ...

Hodges suffered a torn left Achilles tendon, falling to the ground as soon as he planted his non-kicking foot in the end zone during a special teams drill. He was immediately called out for the season and placed on injured reserve.

Personal life

Hodges has the distinction of being one of the few

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

punters in NFL history. He is also the Vice President of Fuzion Sports.

References

External links

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Indianapolis Colts bioNew England Patriots bioNew York Jets bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hodges, Reggie 1982 births Living people Players of American football from Illinois American football punters Ball State Cardinals football players St. Louis Rams players Philadelphia Eagles players Indianapolis Colts players Seattle Seahawks players New England Patriots players New York Jets players Tennessee Titans players Cleveland Browns players 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen