Nathan William Hodel (; born November 12, 1977) is a former

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 ...

long snapper In American football, the long snapper (or deep snapper) is a center on special teams whose duty is to snap the football over a longer distance, typically around 15 yards during punts, and 7–8 yards during field goals and extra point attempt ...

. He was signed by 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 ...

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 ...

in 2001. 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 ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. Hodel was also a member of the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

and

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 ...

Early years

Hodel attended Belleville East High School in

Belleville, Illinois Belleville is a city and the county seat of St. Clair County, Illinois, coterminous with the now defunct Belleville Township. It is also the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Belleville and the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows. The p ...

, and was a two-sport star in baseball and football. In football, he was the team captain and an All-Conference pick as an offensive lineman. In baseball, he was a pitcher, the team captain, an All-Conference pitcher, and an all-Illinois prep pitcher.

College career

At the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

, Hodel was a long snapper on the football team and a pitcher on the baseball team.

Professional career

Carolina Panthers

After graduating from college in 2001, Hodel spent six games on 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, ...

with the

and was then released.

Arizona Cardinals

Hodel signed with the Arizona Cardinals shortly after his release by the Panthers and spent the next nine games on their practice squad. He was activated to the Cardinals' 53-man roster for the last two games of the 2001 season but did not enter a game. He handled long snapping duties with the Cardinals from 2002 to 2008. Hodel was released by the Cardinals on February 26, 2009.

New England Patriots

Hodel was signed by the

on March 10, 2009, after the team's previous long snapper,

Lonie Paxton Leonidas E. "Lonie" Paxton III (born March 13, 1978) is a former American football long snapper. He played college football at California State University, Sacramento#Athletics, Sacramento State and was signed by the New England Patriots as an ...

, signed with the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

Detroit Lions

Hodel signed with the

on December 17, 2009, after an injury to Lions

Don Muhlbach Donald Lynn Muhlbach Jr. (born August 17, 1981) is a former American football long snapper. At the time of his retirement, he was the oldest active player in the NFL other than Tom Brady. Muhlbach played college football for Texas A&M University ...

. The Lions waived Hodel on December 24. Hodel retired after the 2009 season and now lives with his family in Wauconda, Illinois. Hodel is married to Kimberly, has a daughter, Riley, and a son, Miller. He finished his NFL career playing in 133 games. He is fifth in Arizona Cardinals history in consecutive games played at 132.

External links

New England Patriots bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hodel, Nathan 1977 births Living people Sportspeople from Belleville, Illinois Players of American football from St. Clair County, Illinois American football long snappers Illinois Fighting Illini baseball players Illinois Fighting Illini football players Carolina Panthers players Arizona Cardinals players New England Patriots players Detroit Lions players