Cooper Hodges (born July 13, 2000) 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 ...

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

for the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Appalachian State Appalachian State University (; Appalachian, App State, App, or ASU) is a public university in Boone, North Carolina. It was founded as a teachers college in 1899 by brothers B. B. and D. D. Dougherty and the latter's wife, Lillie Shull Dough ...

and was selected in the seventh round of the

2023 NFL Draft The 2023 NFL Draft will be the 88th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players. The draft is scheduled to be held in the plaza outside of Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri, on April 27–29, ...

by the Jaguars.

Early years

Hodges was born on July 13, 2000, and grew up in

Glen St. Mary, Florida Glen St. Mary is a town in Baker County, Florida, United States. In 2010, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 437. Geography Glen St. Mary is located at (30.275987, –82.161408). U.S. Route 90 (Mount Vernon Avenue) runs thr ...

. He attended Baker County High School, being a Super 24 pick and helping the team reach the state championship match in his

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

season. A two-star recruit, Hodges committed to play

for the

Appalachian State Mountaineers The Appalachian State Mountaineers are the athletic teams that represent Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, United States. The Mountaineers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and wer ...

College career

As a true

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. Ara ...

at Appalachian State in 2018, 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 ...

and saw no action due to an injury. The following season, he became their starting

right tackle Tackle is a playing position in gridiron football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and defense. In the modern system of specialized units, ...

and was named second-team all-conference after starting all 14 games. In 2020, Hodges started all 11 games and was named second-team all-conference for the second consecutive year. Hodges continued as a starter in 2021 and was named first-team All-

Sun Belt Conference The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football conference, the Sun Belt began sponsoring football in 2001. Its football teams participa ...

. As a senior in 2022, he appeared in 12 games and earned third-team

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

honors from

Pro Football Focus Pro Football Focus (also written as ProFootballFocus, and often referred to by its initials, PFF) is a sports analytics company that focuses on thorough analysis of the National Football League (NFL) and NCAA Division-I football in the United Sta ...

, additionally being an All-Sun Belt choice for the fourth-straight season. He finished his stint at Appalachian State with 51 consecutive starts, over 3,500 snaps played and only seven sacks allowed.

Professional career

Hodges was selected in the seventh round (226th overall) of the

by his hometown

, who originally acquired the pick in a trade with 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 ...

in exchange for

Laviska Shenault Laviska Terrell Shenault Jr. (born October 5, 1998) is an American football wide receiver for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Colorado. Early years Shenault attended DeSoto High Schoo ...

. Although a right tackle at Appalachian State, he was announced as a

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

when selected. He was placed on injured reserve on August 31, 2023.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hodges, Cooper 2000 births Living people People from Baker County, Florida Players of American football from Florida American football guards Appalachian State Mountaineers football players Jacksonville Jaguars draft picks Jacksonville Jaguars players