KhaDarel Hodge (born January 3, 1995) 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 ...

wide receiver for the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

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 ...

Prairie View A&M Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU or PV) is a public historically black land-grant university in Prairie View, Texas. Founded in 1876, it is one of Texas's two land-grant universities and the second oldest public institution of higher learning ...

Early years and high school career

Hodge was born in

D'Lo, Mississippi D'Lo is a town in Simpson County, Mississippi, United States, along the Strong River. The population was 452 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Jackson, Mississippi metropolitan area. The town was featured in ''Life'' magazine for sending m ...

and raised there with three siblings by a single mother, Michelle Hodge, and by his grandfather, who is a preacher. Hodge attended and played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

at Mendenhall High School. Hodge became the starting quarterback at Mendenhall during his sophomore season and threw for over 3,000 passing yards and ran for over 2,000 yards along with 68 total touchdowns during his junior and senior seasons. He was named second-team All-State his senior season.

College career

Hodge began his career as a quarterback at Alcorn State but left after one year, during which he redshirted. He then went to

Hinds Community College Hinds Community College is a public community college with its main campus in Raymond, Mississippi and branches in Jackson and Vicksburg. The Hinds Community College District includes Hinds County, Claiborne County, part of Copiah County, Ran ...

, where he transitioned to wide receiver, for one season before moving on to

. Hodge played three seasons for the Panthers, catching 104 passes for 1,797 yards and 21 touchdowns. As a senior, Hodge had 48 receptions for 844 yards and 12 touchdowns and was named first-team All- SWAC and Black College All-America.

Professional career

Los Angeles Rams

Hodge signed with the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

on July 24, 2018 after participating in a tryout. He was cut by the Rams at the end of training camp on September 1 and was subsequently signed to their practice squad the following day. Hodge was promoted to the active roster on September 19. Hodge caught his first career pass, a 14-yard reception, on October 7 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 ...

. Hodge played in 14 regular season games during his rookie season, catching two passes for 17 yards and making five tackles on special teams and one tackle in three postseason games, including

Super Bowl LIII Super Bowl LIII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2018 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots defeated the National Football Confe ...

. Hodge signed an exclusive rights contract with the Rams on March 12, 2019. He was waived during final roster cuts on August 31, 2019.

Cleveland Browns

Hodge was claimed off waivers by the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

on September 1, 2019. Hodge played in all 16 of the Browns games, catching four passes for 76 yards and led the team with 13 special teams tackles. Hodge was tendered by the Browns for the 2020 season, and signed the one-year tender on April 16, 2020. Hodge was placed on injured reserve on October 6, 2020. Hodge was activated from injured reserve on October 31, 2020. He was placed on the reserve/

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

list by the team on December 26, 2020, and activated on December 31. He was placed back on the COVID-19 list on January 5, 2021, and activated on January 14. Hodge finished the season with 11 receptions for 180 yards on 17 targets in nine games played. The Browns placed a

restricted free agent A restricted free agent (RFA) is a type of free agent in the National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL), or National Basketball Association (NBA). Such players have special restrictions on the terms under which they can retain ...

tender on Hodge on March 15, 2021, which he signed on May 26, 2021. Hodge was waived by the Browns on August 31, 2021.

Detroit Lions

Hodge was claimed off waivers by the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

on September 1, 2021.

Atlanta Falcons

On March 25, 2022, Hodge signed with the

NFL career statistics

References

External links

Cleveland Browns bio Prairie View A&M Panthers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hodge, KhaDarel 1995 births Living people American football wide receivers Alcorn State Braves football players People from Simpson County, Mississippi Players of American football from Mississippi Hinds Eagles football players Prairie View A&M Panthers football players Los Angeles Rams players Cleveland Browns players Detroit Lions players Atlanta Falcons players