Abdul Raheeda Hodge The Third Jr. (born September 9, 1983) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

coach and former player. He is currently the

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

s coach at

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

, where he played as a 3-time all Big-Ten

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

. He was drafted by the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

in the third round of the

2006 NFL Draft The 2006 National Football League 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 ad ...

Early years

Hodge grew up in

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth ...

and attended

Boyd Anderson High School Boyd H. Anderson High School (also called "Boyd Anderson", or "B.A."), is a suburban public high school located in Lauderdale Lakes, Florida. It is a part of Broward County Public Schools. Boyd H. Anderson serves: all of Lauderdale Lakes, and p ...

(the same school as college teammate offensive lineman David Walker) where he won four

letters Letter, letters, or literature may refer to: Characters typeface * Letter (alphabet), a character representing one or more of the sounds used in speech; any of the symbols of an alphabet. * Letterform, the graphic form of a letter of the alphabe ...

in football, two in

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

, and one in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

. In football, he was a three-year starter, and three-time team captain. Hodge played linebacker for a 9-3 team that reached the state semi-finals. he was selected as an All-American by ''SuperPrep,'' First-team All-State and All-Conference. He was also named

Broward County Broward County ( , ) is a county in the southeastern part of Florida, located in the Miami metropolitan area. It is Florida's second-most populous county after Miami-Dade County and the 17th-most populous in the United States, with over 1.94 ...

MVP on defense. In his high school career, Hodge recorded a total of 308 career tackles, 22 sacks and six interceptions. He also had eight fumble recoveries and fumbles turned for touchdowns. He had over 100 tackles in each of his final three prep seasons. Hodge's best time of 4.5 seconds in the

40-yard dash The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL Draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a he ...

College career

After being recruited by Iowa linebackers coach

Bret Bielema Bret Arnold Bielema (; born January 13, 1970) is currently the head American football coach at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Bielema served as the head football coach at of the University of Wisconsin–Madison from 2006 to 2012 ...

, Hodge attended the University of Iowa, where he majored in

communication studies Communication studies or communication science is an academic discipline that deals with processes of human communication and behavior, patterns of communication in interpersonal relationships, social interactions and communication in differen ...

and was a member of the

National Honor Society The National Honor Society (NHS) is a nationwide organization for high school students in the United States and outlying territories, which consists of many chapters in high schools. Selection is based on four criteria: scholarship (academic achi ...

. He was also one of five seniors selected to the 2005 Leadership Council and served as a captain that season. At Iowa, Hodge played under head coach

Kirk Ferentz Kirk James Ferentz (born August 1, 1955) is an American football coach. He is the current head football coach at the University of Iowa, a position he has held since the 1999 season. From 1990 to 1992, Ferentz was the head football coach at the ...

and defensive coordinator Norm Parker. After redshirting in 2001, Hodge played in all 13 games of the Iowa's conference championship 2002 season, coming mostly on special teams and as a backup linebacker. In his first game as a Hawkeye, he recorded three solo tackles and three assists in the week one over

Akron Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city prop ...

. He had six solo tackles and two assists in win over

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

, and later had five solo tackles in win over Northwestern, including a quarterback sack and a quarterback pressure. Hodge recorded four solo tackles and two assists against

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

in the

Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game in th ...

. In

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

, Hodge started all 13 games of the season at

middle linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

, earning first-team all-Big Ten recognition and leading the conference in tackles as a sophomore. He finished the season with 141 tackles, 9 tackles for loss, 2

quarterback sack In gridiron football, a sack occurs when the quarterback (or another offensive player acting as a passer) is tackled behind the line of scrimmage before throwing a forward pass, when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage in th ...

s, 2

forced fumbles A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful h ...

, and 3 pass break-ups. At

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

, he recorded eight solo tackles and eight assists for career high 16 tackles. Hodge recorded five solo tackles in win over Penn State, and added a 47-yard fumble return and had one pass break-up. He recorded four solo tackles and four assists in

Outback Bowl The ReliaQuest Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, usually on New Year's Day. The event has been formerly called the Hall of Fame Bowl from 1986 to 1995 and the Outback Bowl from 1996 to ...

win over

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. In

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

, Hodge started all 12 games at linebacker, again earning first-team all-Big Ten honors with fellow Iowa linebacker

Chad Greenway Chad Greenway (born January 12, 1983) is a former American football linebacker who spent his entire 11-year career with the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Iowa Hawkeyes Football, Iowa, and ...

as the Hawkeyes were co-champions of the

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

. His season totals included a team-best 116 tackles, including 79 solo and 37 assists; Hodge also had 4.5 tackles for loss and three QB sacks, four pass break-ups, two fumble recoveries and one forced fumble. In the win over Wisconsin to clinch a share of the Big Ten title, Hodge led the team with 11 tackles, including seven solo. Hodge set a

Capital One Bowl The Citrus Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. The bowl is operated by Florida Citrus Sports, a non-profit group that also organizes the Cheez-It Bowl and Florida Classic. The gam ...

record in

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

with 16 tackles against

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

. In

, Hodge was named to several pre-season awards watchlists, including: the

Bronko Nagurski Trophy The Bronko Nagurski Trophy has been awarded annually since 1993 to the collegiate American football defensive player adjudged by the membership of the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) to be the best in the National Collegiate Athle ...

watch list, the

Lott Trophy The Lott IMPACT Trophy is presented annually to the college football defensive IMPACT player of the year. IMPACT is an acronym for: Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community, and Tenacity. The award purports to equally recognize the ...

watch list, the

Dick Butkus Award The Butkus Award, instituted in 1985 by the Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando, is given annually to the top linebackers at the high school, collegiate and professional levels of football. The award, named in honor of College Football Hall of Fame ...

watch list, and the

Bednarik Award The Chuck Bednarik Award is presented annually to the defensive player in college football as judged by the Maxwell Football Club to be the best in the United States. The award is named for Chuck Bednarik, a former college and professional Americ ...

watch list. After the season, he earned all-Big Ten honors for the third time. He was named first-team defensive All-America by

Phil Steele's Phil Steele (c. 1960) is an American sportswriter and analyst who focuses exclusively on college and professional football. He is considered a "highly respected prognosticator" within the sports media. His company, Phil Steele Publications, prod ...

''College Football Preview'', second-team All-America by ''Athlon Sports,'' second-team All-America by

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

, third-team All-America by Nationalchamps.net, No. 4 inside linebacker by ''

The Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

'', and third-team All-America by collegesportsreport.com. In the win over Illinois he recorded a career-best 18 tackles, including 11 solo, to earn Big Ten Defensive Player of the week honors. Against Florida in the

2006 Outback Bowl The 2006 Outback Bowl was an American college football bowl game played January 2, 2006, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. It was the 20th edition of the Outback Bowl and featured the Iowa Hawkeyes of the Big Ten Conference, and the Flor ...

, Hodge set an Iowa bowl record and

record with 19 tackles, including 14 solo, he also had one tackle for loss. Hodge's 158 total tackles in 2005 ranked best for the team during the season, best in the Big Ten, second best all-time at Iowa for a single season, and third in the country. While at Iowa, he led the Big Ten and ranked third in the nation in tackles per game, ranked third in the nation in solo tackles per game, tied for fifth in the Big Ten in forced

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful ...

s, and tied for ninth in recovered fumbles. Hodge ranks third in career tackles with 453.

Professional career

Green Bay Packers

Hodge was selected by the

in the 3rd round (67th overall) of the

. He scored his first NFL touchdown on a fumble recovery during his first career start against the

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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

on November 27, 2006. In 2007, Hodge was 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 th ...

due to a knee injury. Hodge changed his number from 55 to his old college number of 52. He underwent surgery on both knees in an attempt to return to the club in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

. Hodge was cut by the Packers on August 30, 2008 during final cuts.

Cincinnati Bengals

Hodge was signed to the

practice squad In sports, 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. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

of the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

on September 16, 2008. On October 3, he was promoted to the active roster after the team waived

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

Simeon Castille Simeon Castille (born October 12, 1985) is a former American football cornerback. He owns and operates Stille Academy a training facility in Pelham, Alabama. He was a high school All-American and State Champion at Briarwood Christian School ...

. Hodge appeared in six games for the Bengals, recording three tackles, before being placed on

with an arm injury on November 17. The Bengals cut Hodge on September 4, 2010.

Carolina Panthers

The

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

signed Hodge on October 27, 2010. He appeared in five games for the Panthers.

Career Stats

Coaching career

Following his career in the NFL, Hodge founded Professional Interactive Solutions in his hometown of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, a company that helped businesses grow their online presence. In addition to running the business, Hodge served as an assistant coach for several high schools in Sarasota, Florida, from 2013–16, including Northeast High School and his alma mater

. He served as head coach of GAIN sports in

Sarasota Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sout ...

from 2013-16. In 2018, he served a coaching intern for the NFL’s

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 club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...

before joining the

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

staff in 2019 as linebackers coach and NFL liaison. In 2022, Hodge was hired by his collegiate alma mater Iowa as tight ends coach. Iowa still coached by Kirk Ferentz, who coached the team when Hodge played.

References

External links

Cincinnati Bengals bio
*
Iowa Hawkeyes coaching bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hodge, Abdul 1983 births Living people People from Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands United States Virgin Islands players of American football American football linebackers Iowa Hawkeyes football players Green Bay Packers players Cincinnati Bengals players Carolina Panthers players Players of American football from Fort Lauderdale, Florida Iowa Hawkeyes football coaches All-American college football players