Sophomore defensive end Zach Hodges saw the field in nine games in his first season with the Harvard football team a fall ago, putting together a successful freshman campaign with 20 tackles and three sacks.

But his production sophomore year exceeded all expectations. Hodges amassed 32 tackles and a team-high nine sacks to earn second team All-America and first team All-Ivy honors.

“I would say that freshman year was kind of a whirlwind,” Hodges said. “I knew what was coming around this time this season. Really, there was just a lot of support; a lot of players played well, and it also kind of made my job easier.”

One of Hodges’ top performances came in the first game of the year against San Diego, when he notched two sacks, three tackles for loss, and two quarterback hurries.

“He’s got the innate quickness that—we see it quite often and we kind of get used to it, but I know when some of the opponents see it—when he puts his foot in the ground, kids can’t adjust,” Harvard head coach Tim Murphy said.

Despite his individual accolades and breakout season, Hodges points to the comeback win against Yale as his best memory from the fall and remains focused on the larger team goals at hand.

“Honestly I don’t really care [about the awards],” Hodges said. “It’s very humbling to receive those things, and I’m really grateful…. But more importantly, I try to do whatever to give my team the greatest opportunity to be successful, and just try to focus on that and playing to meet whatever the needs are of my team.”

Hodges noted that one point of emphasis this offseason is adding bulk, something he has been working on since the beginning of high school. Murphy also emphasized that the rising junior, despite being a dominant defensive presence now, is by no means a finished product.

“He needs to become more consistent; he needs to become more of an every-down player; he needs to be better against the run when they run the ball right at him,” Murphy said. “But the kid’s special, and if he reaches his full potential, he’s going to be one of the best defensive players ever to play at Harvard.”

—Staff writer David Steinbach can be reached at dsteinbach@college.harvard.edu.