UPDATED: October 30, 2015, at 3:05 a.m.
There are few Harvard athletes as decorated as Zack Hodges ‘15, the first two-time Defensive Player of the Year in Ivy League history, who was added to the St. Louis Rams practice squad this past weekend.
With outside linebacker Alec Ogletree headed to injured reserve, the Rams picked up Hodges as part of a roster reshuffle. The former Crimson standout signed with the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent this spring before being released.
The 6’2”, 250-pound defensive end racked up a program record 26 sacks during his time at Harvard while adding 41.5 tackles for a loss and 118 total tackles. He was part of last season’s undefeated, Ivy League champions, recording 8.5 sacks as part of a Crimson defense that allowed just 12.3 points per game.
Despite excelling as a down lineman in college, Hodges will likely transition to an outside linebacker role in the NFL due to his relatively diminutive frame. Scouting reports often tout his pass-rushing skills. NFL.com wrote that he “[g]ets upfield with good burst after snap. Good speed to the ball when in back-side pursuit, and can plant his foot and turn the corner at a tight angle when rushing. Loose, athletic hips. Spin move can become a featured pass-rush weapon.”
Hodges was hoping to hear his name called late in this spring’s draft in Chicago, but ended up coming to terms as a priority free agent with the Colts. A 2015 Senior Bowl participant, Hodges spent the entire spring and much of the summer with the Colts before being waived on August 31 as part of the team’s final wave of preseason cuts.
Hodges’ background came to the forefront last spring during pre-draft workouts, when outlets from the New York Times to the Bleacher Report recounted his difficult past and subsequent path to Harvard. Hodges dealt with tragedy after tragedy, losing his father, grandfather, and mother all before the end of his junior year, struggling with homelessness and poverty throughout.
After losing his father to a brain tumor during infancy, Hodges was raised by his grandfather and mother, but the former, an influential part of Hodges’s life, passed away before his freshman year of high school. He lost his mother to a stroke during his junior year, exactly 15 years after the death of his father.
Instead of allowing his history of tragedy to limit him, Hodges ended up at Phillips Exeter Academy for his senior year, where he was recruited to play under Harvard football coach Tim Murphy.
This story has been revised to reflect the following correction:
CORRECTION: October 30, 2015
A previous version of this article misspelled the name of Zack Hodges '15.
