Thomas Paul Hodson (born January 28, 1967) 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 ...
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
in 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 ...
for the
LSU Tigers
The LSU Tigers and Lady Tigers are the athletic teams representing Louisiana State University (LSU), a state university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. LSU competes in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Associat ...
of
Louisiana State University
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 nea ...
, where he holds several school passing records. In the NFL, he served primarily as a back-up quarterback, playing for four different teams in six seasons, though he did start a number of games for the New England Patriots in the early 1990s.
Early life
Hodson was born in
Mathews, Louisiana
Mathews is a census-designated place (CDP) on Bayou Lafourche in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 2,273 in 2020. It is part of the Houma– Bayou Cane–Thibodaux metropolitan statistical area.
History
On Au ...
in
Lafourche Parish
Lafourche Parish (french: Paroisse de la Fourche) is a parish located in the south of the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Thibodaux. The parish was formed in 1807. It was originally the northern part of Lafourche Interior Parish, whi ...
. He played quarterback at
Central Lafourche High School
Central Lafourche High School (CLHS) is a public high school serving students in grades 9 through 12 in Mathews, unincorporated Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, United States,Louisiana State University (LSU). As quarterback for LSU's football team, Hodson led LSU to two SEC Championships, first as a freshman (1986) and then as a junior (1988). During his 44 regular season games at LSU (1986–1989), Hodson passed for 9,115 yards and 69 touchdowns, becoming the first quarterback in SEC history to surpass 8,000 career passing yards, and the first quarterback in SEC history to surpass 60 career passing touchdowns. Hodson passed for over 2,000 yards during each of his four seasons at LSU, becoming the third player in
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
history to achieve that feat. During his freshman season, Hodson was voted first team All-SEC, becoming the first LSU quarterback to be awarded that honor since the legendary
Bert Jones
Bertram Hays Jones (born September 7, 1951) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Baltimore Colts and Los Angeles Rams. At Ruston High School in Ruston, Louisiana, he was given t ...
(first team All-SEC, 1972). Hodson was selected first team All-SEC during each of his four seasons at LSU, the only player in school history to achieve that feat.
During Hodson's freshman season (1986), he led LSU to its first AP Top 10 finish since 1970 and its first SEC Championship since 1970. In Hodson's first game, he led No. 14 LSU to a 35–17 victory over No. 7
Texas A&M
Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...
. Later in the season, Hodson led No. 18 LSU to a 14–10 victory at No. 6 Alabama.
During Hodson's sophomore season (1987), he led LSU to its first AP Top 5 finish since 1961. Major victories included No. 6 LSU's 17–3 victory at No. 15 Texas A&M, No. 9 LSU's 34–9 victory at
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
(LSU's first win ever at
Neyland Stadium
Neyland Stadium ( ), is a sports stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States. It serves primarily as the home of the Tennessee Volunteers football team, but is also used to host large conventions and has been a site for several National Foot ...
), No. 4 LSU's 13–13 tie with No. 7
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 ...
, No. 7 LSU's 13–10 victory over No. 19
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 ...
, No. 7 LSU's 26–23 victory at No. 16
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
, and No. 7 LSU's 30–13 victory over No. 8 South Carolina in the Gator Bowl.
During Hodson's junior season (1988), he led LSU to another SEC Championship, and a No. 19 finish in the AP Poll. Major victories included No. 18 LSU's 27–0 victory over No. 10 Texas A&M, LSU's 7–6 victory over No. 4 Auburn (the famous Earthquake Game), and No. 13 LSU's 19–18 victory at No. 18 Alabama.
*Does not include bowl games.
†Led SEC
NFL
Hodson was selected 59th overall in the 1990 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots. He started the last 6 games of his rookie season, passing for 968 yards. However, during Hodson's next two seasons with the Patriots, he was only allowed 68 passing attempts in 1991 and 91 passing attempts in 1992. From 1993 to 1996, Hodson served as a back-up for the
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...
, the
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...
, and 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 league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
, but saw no playing time except for 5 passing attempts in 1995 for the Saints.
Later life
On February 2, 2005, ''
The Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'' wrote a feature on Hodson. In the article, the Globe quotes Hodson as saying: "Although I didn't have great success as a professional I played six years and it was a great honor to play in the NFL. I am grateful I was able to play six years." The Globe reported that Hodson lives in Baton Rouge with his wife and his 10-year-old identical twin daughters, and quoted Hodson as saying that he lives in Baton Rouge because he has "fond memories" at LSU and because it is "a good place to raise a family."
See also
*
LSU Tigers football statistical leaders
The LSU Tigers football statistical leaders are individual statistical leaders of the LSU Tigers football program in various categories, including forward pass, passing, Rush (American football), rushing, Reception (American football), receivin ...