Story by
Who was the happiest Jaguar on the field for the first OTA? Likely, it was Cooper Hodges
- Story by
- Who was the happiest Jaguar on the field for the first OTA? Likely, it was Cooper Hodges
Cooper Hodges had the look of a kid who just opened his favorite Christmas present of all-time.
"I got out of bed a little bit faster," said the Jacksonville Jaguars ' second-year offensive guard Monday after the team's first Organized Team Activity session at the Miller Electric Center. "I was excited to come out here and just have the opportunity to remind myself 'Hey, I'm still a ballplayer.'"
Advertisement
The reason the Baker County High graduate was bubbling over with excitement: it was Hodges' first team practice, on grass, since a patella injury in the first quarter of a preseason game against Detroit on Aug. 19, 2023.
Hodges started that game after an impressive performance off the bench in the first preseason game against Dallas . But he was injured on a 40-yard field goal by Brandon McManus in the first quarter and after initial optimism that he could return after four games on injured reserve, Hodges was eventually ruled out for the season and underwent surgery.
Jacksonville Jaguars offensive guard Cooper Hodges, who played high school football at Baker County, is coming off a rookie season lost to a knee injury.
Cooper Hodges worked year-round at rehab
After attacking his rehab with the same kind of intensity that attracted the Jags' attention when they drafted Hodges on the seventh round out of Appalachian State, he was back on the field — with no knee brace, looking leaner and stronger, and throwing himself into every drill and team period.
Advertisement
"I didn't really have an offseason," he said. "I was here five days a week doing rehab, just trying to get ready for this. It's just been staying consistent ... battling back. It's hard. Everybody knows it's hard. If it wasn't hard, everybody would do it."
The only thing Hodges isn't quite ready to do was his "Tugboat Tumble" — a play off the nickname offensive line coach Phil Rauscher gave him, combined with a cartwheel as good as a 6-foot-4, 305-pound man can do that would entertain fans when he ran onto the field for every training camp practice.
For one thing, there were no fans at the Miller Center on Monday. For another, Hodges wasn't quite ready to do a gymnastic move so soon after getting his chance to play football again.
"I'm a little skeptical on the cartwheels now," he said. "I've got to calm it down a little bit."
Advertisement
Hodges won't need a knee brace
But the fact that Hodges doesn't need a knee brace and said he won't when the team begins full contact at training camp in late July, was a good sign.
"Absolutely," he said. "I will not be wearing a brace. I'm 100 percent confident in my leg. Even though it's not full contact [in OTAs], still being able to do the movements really helps the confidence ... to know in your head that you're back."
Jaguars guard Brandon Scherff (68) helps Cooper Hodges with offensive line techniques during a training camp practice last season. Hodges said he learned on veterans such as Scherff to learn more about the pro game while he missed last season with an injury.
Hodges received rave reviews from Jaguars coaches during training camp last season and seemed on track to make the team.
"Cooper has brought a physicality," offensive coordinator Press Taylor before one practice. "He brings a physical aspect. That's been the one thing as these young guys continue to adjust to the speed of the game and the amount of offense we have in, he's done a good job of just being physical."
Advertisement
Once Hodges was injured, all he could do in addition to rehab was steep himself in the offense and sharpen his football IQ.
Jags coach Doug Pederson said Monday that Hodges did everything he could ask in what amounted to a redshirt season.
"His health is good," Pederson said. "He's got to continue to get stronger as we know, but he's doing some great things out there. This next phase will be critical and again, it's not necessarily ... the physicality of phase three [OTAs], but just the mental part of phase three and then just understanding our offense again and getting back in it. And so he's in a good spot, but we got to continue to see the growth with him."
Hodges learned from veterans how to prepare
Hodges isn't planning on anything less, especially after having football robbed from him for the longest period of his life since he began playing youth football in Macclenny at the age of 6.
Advertisement
Being in meeting rooms with veterans such as Brandon Scherff and Tyler Shatley and watching video has been invaluable.
"A lot of what I learned was how to prepare throughout the week, especially a game week," Hodges said. "How these guys prepare themselves, how they watch film on individual players [opponents]. By the time they get out there on Sunday, they're going to know what their first move, second move, third move is ... that kind of stuff is what I was able to take from my time away."
But the Tugboat is back, in the element he loves the most — playing football with his teammates and getting ready for a new season.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Cooper Hodges takes a big step in his comeback from a 2023 knee injury
