Last Updated on April 29, 2023 6:27 pm
BOONE, N.C. — App State Football made it multiple NFL Draft picks for the second time since 2020, as offensive lineman Cooper Hodges joined Los Angeles Rams selection Nick Hampton by being selected in the seventh round by the Jacksonville Jaguars.
With Hodges being taken early in the seventh round with the 226th overall selection by a familiar team — his hometown of Glen St. Mary, Fla., is about 30 minutes west of Jacksonville — App State has now produced six draft picks since 2020.
Hodges ended the 2022 regular season with starts in all 51 of his FBS game appearances. He became a four-time All-Sun Belt selection as a right tackle, and he played guard in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl.
Hodges' overall blocking grade of 85.3 from PFF in 2022 ranked fifth overall among starting FBS offensive tackles and No. 1 among starting right tackles at the FBS level.
Hodges' run-blocking grade of 86.2 was also fifth nationally among starting FBS offensive tackles and No. 1 among starting right tackles. A two-year captain, he allowed just one sack and two quarterback hits in 428 pass-blocking snaps.
Hampton and Hodges are the 32nd and 33rd different App State alum to be selected in the NFL Draft, dating back to 1942.
