Linebacker Jamoi Hodge talks about the unique situation with Colorado with all the new personnel coming through and how to prepare for it.
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00:00 >> All right, this is obviously a very different Colorado team than you guys
00:04 saw last year.
00:05 As you've been preparing for this year's version of Colorado,
00:08 what have you seen on film as far as their offense is concerned?
00:11 >> Well, as of right now, we've been looking at King State,
00:14 where the offensive coordinator came from.
00:16 So I know they do a lot of tempo too, but
00:18 our offense run tempo in practice all the time.
00:21 So I'm pretty confident that we'll be good on the tempo part.
00:25 They do a lot of 11 personnel, like a running ball, hit stuff down here.
00:30 I'm not trying to bounce a lot of balls outside and then throwing little hitches.
00:35 And then a lot of RPOs and read pulls and stuff like that.
00:39 When they pull, they wanna fit tight.
00:41 >> Do you spend even more time in film watching players from their previous
00:46 schools just to kinda see their good and bad tendencies?
00:49 >> Yeah, I was doing that too, so you can see they can give me tips as to what
00:54 plays gonna lead to that and then how they like the line up and what they like to run.
00:58 And also too, I know they running back that they got from Houston,
01:01 he didn't play last year, but he played cuz he had an injury and played the year before that.
01:05 So he's a freshman, but he's a pretty good player.
01:07 So seeing him, no, he gonna be pretty good this year.
01:10 >> They put out a lot of stuff on YouTube.
01:13 Have y'all guys watched that at all or
01:14 just mainly just like Kent State or whatever the other players are from?
01:18 >> I mean, I'd be at home and just watch the clips cuz I think they put a little
01:23 bit too much than they should on the Internet, but I'll be watching a little bit.
01:28 >> You're 200 Joe Gillespie in this defense, obviously,
01:31 he's the linebackers coach as well.
01:33 How do you feel the defense has grown from last year to this year?
01:37 >> Way better because even in our install,
01:40 we compare what we installed last year and how it installed this year.
01:44 It was like a lot of stuff we didn't install to the second half of the season.
01:49 We was in camp the early second week, I already had installed that.
01:52 So we are already way advanced to what last year.
01:56 >> Well, there's always the anticipation for a new season, but
01:59 that's what you guys did last year as good as it was.
02:01 But how bad it ended in that one game.
02:03 How much has that just driven you during this offseason?
02:06 >> Yes, actually added extra fuel to the fire because we didn't end it.
02:10 The two games we lost last year was most important in the season.
02:13 We didn't end it the way how we wanted to end.
02:15 So this year is having a chip on my shoulder and finishing the job.
02:18 >> What does it feel like going into a game like this,
02:22 where there's so much hype basically because of the coaches of the team,
02:24 not because you guys went to the championship game?
02:27 Is there anything you guys wanna show?
02:29 >> I mean, mainly that we just focusing on ourself.
02:31 You know the media and all that stuff.
02:33 They gonna try to put it in on Coach Prine and stuff.
02:36 Now you're taking that away from Coach Prine, he's a great player.
02:38 But at the end of the day, I just feel like we playing Colorado.
02:41 They got some good players though, so they ain't taking that away from them.
02:43 But just worrying about what we gotta do.
02:45 And we gonna end on top if you worry about us and do what we supposed to do.
02:49 >> What kind of challenges does Shador Sanders bring with his ability to throw
02:53 and run?
02:54 >> Yeah, he can throw the ball very well, mainly like a pocket passer.
02:58 But he also keep you honest to him and tuck the ball and
03:01 run a couple times too like that.
03:02 So he's gonna be a great player.
03:04 And he also can make them tight throws and stuff like that,
03:07 try to air the ball out.
03:08 >> I know you're on the other side.
03:10 Last year this time quarterback wise,
03:11 we didn't know Chandler was gonna be the starter like you guys probably did.
03:14 But if you go into this season, if you've seen what he's been through,
03:17 what difference have you seen in him from what I'm looking at?
03:21 >> I see like a very different, hungry person that's eager to get out there on
03:25 the field and win and lead the team.
03:26 Because last year he won a job and then he got hurt in the first game.
03:31 So a lot of people didn't get to see him.
03:32 And then he had that awesome game against Baylor when he got that first start.
03:37 He had like 500 yards coming out of the stadium.
03:39 So yeah, pretty excited to see what he's gonna do for this year.
03:42 >> When you were coming out of high school, how many Division I offers did you have?
03:47 >> Zero.
03:48 >> And when you were thinking through that process,
03:51 you ended up going to junior college, was there ever a point where you thought
03:56 football wouldn't last long?
03:58 Did you ever envision what you're going through right now?
04:01 >> I mean, I always knew, coming out of high school,
04:04 I always knew last time I'm one of the best linebackers in the nation.
04:07 It was just, I just didn't have, I got my SAT score that late.
04:11 So then when I got to junior college,
04:14 I know Louis was trying to pick me up before the summer was my senior year
04:18 in high school, but I didn't get my SAT score until like three weeks when I got
04:21 down in Juco.
04:22 So by that time, it's too late.
04:24 They already signed the people and
04:25 they didn't have enough scholarship to bring me on for that season.
04:28 So I was already down in junior college when I was playing.
04:32 Then my coaches kept telling me, Coach Kiyoshi Harris, she the one who came to my
04:36 career and made me, got committed to a D2 school called Wingate, and
04:40 then I decommitted from there.
04:42 And then Coach Kiyoshi Harris got me to come to Juco, and
04:45 the whole time I got into Juco, I can't remember when I first got my first offer,
04:50 but he just kept telling me, just keep trusting the process,
04:54 just keep being patient.
04:55 Your time coming, you're gonna get offered.
04:56 And as soon as it was one offer, then another one, and it just kept coming.
04:59 It just kept rolling in.
05:01 >> And now you get to experience this, you played a national championship last year.
05:05 I mean, that had to be kind of the reward for the effort that you put into it.
05:10 What did that feel like?
05:11 >> It felt very special, especially how my journey kinda started,
05:16 because coming out of high school, I had a zero D-mile offer.
05:19 Then coming to Juco, we had over 30 linebackers there.
05:23 So it was some practice where I barely got ripped.
05:26 So I'm like, I'm gonna play, I'm gonna get my name out here, I'm gonna leave.
05:29 I'm 15 hours away from home, cuz it was in Kansas and stuff like that.
05:33 Then fighting through that, then winning the starting job, then getting offers,
05:38 and then being a No. 1 linebacker in the nation in junior college.
05:40 Then coming here to TCU, fighting through adversity.
05:43 And then finally, after the past year, seeing the bright side of it and
05:46 all the work I put in, it's just very exciting to get ready and
05:50 get on with this senior year.
05:51 >> Did folks in Winston-Salem believe in you the whole time?
05:53 >> Yeah, everybody, I always knew, since I played football,
05:56 I've been playing football since I was four.
05:58 So since I was four, everybody always knew I was gonna be special.
06:00 >> Tomorrow, you guys had to replace the winners.
06:05 And Dandy stepped in in the spring and in fall camp.
06:08 How's he been playing alongside you and Johnny?
06:12 >> I've been very good, especially his experience at safety.
06:14 So a lot of times, we basically got a DB at linebacker, but
06:20 he's very physical and he's big too.
06:22 So he helped us out a lot, a lot of the covering aspect and
06:25 the start position where we need him to go out there and
06:28 cover up some receivers to free up the safety so we can double some people.
06:33 And he actually had very versatile to our linebacker room.
06:36 And he also fast and can blitz too.
06:37 >> Anything else for tomorrow?
06:40 [BLANK_AUDIO]