Unwanted Linebacker on T.C.U.’s Unlikely Cast in C.F.P. Title Game

Hodges said he has hired an attorney, as has his family, and that discussions were ongoing with the Navy, though he declined to discuss his case in detail. He said it may take many years to be resolved.

“If I stayed, it would have ruined my life for the long run,” said Hodges, who said he was so miserable that he suffered from depression. “Money doesn’t matter. I’m not worried about it. Everything happens for a reason. I have a really good lawyer and I’m comfortable with that.”

Taking on the Navy is consistent with Hodges’s athletic path, which has seemed to sail into the headwinds of convention at every turn.

At a time when the youth sports complex encourages early specialization, Hodges and his older brother, Joe, who works as a civil engineer in the Kansas City area, dabbled in a variety of sports. At one point, Hodges was more intent on becoming the next Michael Phelps than the next Ray Lewis. In high school, while his football contemporaries were off at college camps running the 40-yard dash, he was competing in other sports. When he committed to the Naval Academy at the start of his junior year, it was to play lacrosse.

And yet, there he was in the fall, an accomplished high school football player hiding in plain sight. Hodges helped Quince Orchard High win the Maryland 4A state championship in 2018. He was chosen to the Washington Post’s all-Metro area first team, which included would-be college standouts like Alabama safety DeMarcco Hellams, Clemson defensive tackle Bryan Bresee and Southern California quarterback Caleb Williams, this season’s Heisman Trophy winner.

“Growing up was difficult for him,” said his father, Brian Hodges, who recalled a lacrosse coach being upset that Johnny, then 12, missed the start of a tournament to attend a swim meet. “Everybody wants you to play one sport. We fought that all the way through.”

Now, it is possible to see in Hodges, who has filled out to 6-foot-2, 240 pounds, the fluid hips and the hand-eye coordination of a lacrosse and basketball player, and the broad shoulders and sturdy back of a swimmer. The enthusiasm of an athlete whose attachment to the sport hasn’t become a burden is also apparent.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/08/sports/ncaafootball/tcu-georgia-cfp-championship.html