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Tampa Jesuit TE Larry Hodges has signed with the Miami Hurricanes making him the fourth player to do so today.
The 6-2, 235-pounder is a 3-star according to the 247 Composite. Hodges is ranked #574 overall in the nation, the #26 TE in the country, and the #73 player in The Sunshine State.
Recruiting Story
Hodges has been committed to Miami for nearly 11 months now and is tied for the longest commitment in this class with Cameron Williams. Hodges has received offers from Texas, LSU, and Oklahoma since then but has not visited any school other than Miami. Hodges was as solid of a commitment as you could be and now he is officially a Miami Hurricane.
Evaluation
Larry Hodges is a Swiss army knife of a player and the coaches over at Tampa Jesuit used him as such this year. This season alone Hodges ran the ball 36 times for nearly 200 yards and 4 touchdowns, he caught 25 passes for nearly 400 yards and 5 touchdowns, and even threw the ball three times for two completions and a touchdown. He also had a kickoff return for a touchdown in one game. Hodges can be a dangerous weapon if you use him in creative ways.
Hodges does not go against the greatest competition week in and week out since he is from the west coast of Florida, but what he does weekly is impressive no matter who you are playing against. In any given game, Hodges is flexed out as a wide receiver and beating corners with his route running, he is lined up in the backfield as a running back and is stiff arming defenders, and is lined up in the slot and catching fade passes over the safety.
As much as I like what Hodges can do on the field, there are still a lot of things he can work on. First, Hodges does not have great ball security as a ball carrier. He often times holds the ball away from his body which scares me. Secondly, he doesn’t consistently catch the ball with his hands. Sometimes he will just catch the ball with his body which can lead to drops. Finally, we have the blocking. I cannot find a whole lot of film of Hodges as a blocker. I’m not saying that Hodges is a bad blocker, I’m saying that I don’t know if Hodges can block. The good news is all of these things are teachable.
The Team
In 2018, Miami had four scholarship tight ends on the roster, but by the time the final week of the regular season rolled around, they were all sidelined due to injury. Assuming they all come back 100%, Hodges would be the 5th guy and would add much needed depth. Mark Richt likes to run two tight end sets and having Hodges as a backup will give him the flexibility to do more of that.
Redshirt Probability: 7/10
Unless there is a similar situation to 2018 when four different tight ends were dealing with injury, I expect Hodges to take a redshirt year. It appears that all four of Michael Irvin Jr, Brian Polendey, Brevin Jordan, and Will Mallory will be back next year. Add to that the fact that Hodges is a summer enrollee and it is really hard to see a way where he plays in more than four games in 2019.
The 6-2, 235-pounder is a 3-star according to the 247 Composite. Hodges is ranked #574 overall in the nation, the #26 TE in the country, and the #73 player in The Sunshine State.
Recruiting Story
Hodges has been committed to Miami for nearly 11 months now and is tied for the longest commitment in this class with Cameron Williams. Hodges has received offers from Texas, LSU, and Oklahoma since then but has not visited any school other than Miami. Hodges was as solid of a commitment as you could be and now he is officially a Miami Hurricane.
Evaluation
Larry Hodges is a Swiss army knife of a player and the coaches over at Tampa Jesuit used him as such this year. This season alone Hodges ran the ball 36 times for nearly 200 yards and 4 touchdowns, he caught 25 passes for nearly 400 yards and 5 touchdowns, and even threw the ball three times for two completions and a touchdown. He also had a kickoff return for a touchdown in one game. Hodges can be a dangerous weapon if you use him in creative ways.
Hodges does not go against the greatest competition week in and week out since he is from the west coast of Florida, but what he does weekly is impressive no matter who you are playing against. In any given game, Hodges is flexed out as a wide receiver and beating corners with his route running, he is lined up in the backfield as a running back and is stiff arming defenders, and is lined up in the slot and catching fade passes over the safety.
As much as I like what Hodges can do on the field, there are still a lot of things he can work on. First, Hodges does not have great ball security as a ball carrier. He often times holds the ball away from his body which scares me. Secondly, he doesn’t consistently catch the ball with his hands. Sometimes he will just catch the ball with his body which can lead to drops. Finally, we have the blocking. I cannot find a whole lot of film of Hodges as a blocker. I’m not saying that Hodges is a bad blocker, I’m saying that I don’t know if Hodges can block. The good news is all of these things are teachable.
The Team
In 2018, Miami had four scholarship tight ends on the roster, but by the time the final week of the regular season rolled around, they were all sidelined due to injury. Assuming they all come back 100%, Hodges would be the 5th guy and would add much needed depth. Mark Richt likes to run two tight end sets and having Hodges as a backup will give him the flexibility to do more of that.
Redshirt Probability: 7/10
Unless there is a similar situation to 2018 when four different tight ends were dealing with injury, I expect Hodges to take a redshirt year. It appears that all four of Michael Irvin Jr, Brian Polendey, Brevin Jordan, and Will Mallory will be back next year. Add to that the fact that Hodges is a summer enrollee and it is really hard to see a way where he plays in more than four games in 2019.
