Iowa football hires Abdul Hodge as tight ends coach, slides Brian Ferentz to QBs role

Chad Leistikow
Hawk Central

Former star linebacker Abdul Hodge will be returning to the Iowa football program as its tight ends coach.

The move will slide offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz into the quarterbacks coach role previously held by Ken O’Keefe, who stepped down to take an off-field position last month. The Register, through a source who requested anonymity because the hiring was not official yet, confirmed the details of the move Tuesday that was first reported by ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

The University of Iowa made the move official Wednesday afternoon.

Abdul Hodge has spent the last three seasons in South Dakota as its outside linebackers coach and NFL liaison.

Hodge was the Hawkeyes’ starting middle linebacker during some of Iowa football’s most memorable seasons under Kirk Ferentz, who is entering his 23rd season as head coach. Hodge was a two-time, first-team all-Big Ten Conference pick (in 2003 and ’04) and captain in 2005. His 453 career tackles are the most in the Ferentz era and rank No. 3 in Iowa history. Kirk Ferentz has long valued Hodge’s high character and became a mentor to Hodge when he wanted to get into coaching.

“Abdul exemplifies all that is good in college football," Kirk Ferentz said in a statement. "The competitive drive he used to become an all-Big Ten player continues to fuel him to this day. I am confident he will do an outstanding job in this position.”

Hodge, 38, has spent the past three seasons as the outside linebackers coach and NFL liaison at South Dakota, which went 7-5 last season and lost in the first round of the FCS playoffs. Hodge said returning to Iowa as an honorary captain for a 2016 game was a key moment in making the move.

“I got to meet the players and spend a lot of quality time with the staff again. My daughter told me she could tell I was really happy — happy to be back in a place that felt like home," Hodge said. "I am thrilled to be able to bring my family to Iowa City."

Hodge is originally from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, giving the Hawkeyes more recruiting ties to that region. Running-backs coach Ladell Betts, another former Hawkeye, was brought aboard last March after working as a high school coach in Fort Lauderdale.

Brian Ferentz played with Hodge in the early 2000s at Iowa on opposite sides of the ball. Now Ferentz and Hodge will be on the same offensive staff, with Ferentz entering his sixth year as offensive coordinator. The move certainly will put the head coach’s oldest son under more scrutiny after the Hawkeyes had the 121st-ranked offense (out of 130) in FBS last fall during a 10-4 season.

Ferentz had been doubling as tight ends coach since Iowa made LeVar Woods is full-time special-teams coordinator before the 2018 season. Now the tight-ends room has a fresh set of eyes in Hodge, while the quarterbacks room — with a competition expected this spring with Spencer Petras, Alex Padilla and Joey Labas — will operate under Brian Ferentz.

In early February, Kirk Ferentz said that the team's passing game had to get better. He's doubling down on his son to make it better.

“I’m betting on us, if that’s how you want to put it,” Kirk Ferentz said then. “... I think we’ve got a good staff."

In his statement Wednesday, the head coach said the move was "logical" for the program.

“The person in charge of calling the plays," Ferentz said, "should work most closely with the players who are in control of the offense."