Ace Hodges is an offensive/defensive lineman out of Casady in Oklahoma City, a small private school that is not even a part of OSSAA this season. Hodges is far from your ordinary preferred walk-on; PWO commitments usually come later in the recruiting cycle, as opportunities for full scholarships can arise elsewhere. Ace Hodges appreciated the Sooners taking a chance on him with a PWO offer, so shortly after, he announced his commitment to Oklahoma on June 9th. Hodges had offers from East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma, and an offer from the Air Force Academy, "I knew I could get more offers if I wanted to; I just didn't want to be like that (chasing offers); I'm not one of those guys. I wanted to be committed to a school that took a chance on me. Think about it: I'm a kid from a private school that doesn't play Oklahoma teams; I'm not exactly at a Bixby. The fact that the coaching staff took the chance on me and treated me with equal respect was one of the main factors and the fact that they let me choose what position I wanted to play. It's Oklahoma, and I'm an Oklahoma kid."
Ace Hodges earned his PWO offer at OU while attending the Brent Venables Football Camp. When Venables offered Hodges, he allowed him to choose which side of the ball he wanted to play, "They gave me the choice of playing O-Line or D-Line; it wasn't like they pressured me to go one way or another, they genuinely let me make that decision for myself. Coach Venables wanted to make sure that if I was going there, that I would be doing what I love. I really enjoyed that; I was not expecting that." Hodges attended three sessions of the Brent Venables Football Camp, "I went to one for O-Line just to like see how the coaches are. I will be with the coaches six or seven days a week; you have to actually like them. I love Coach Bedenbaugh; it's just that O-Line wasn't for me. I love all the coaches, but I feel that D-Line is more of the right decision for me."
At Casady, Ace Hodges plays both offense and defens; in week zero, he played 130 snaps, recorded 6.5 tackles, two TFLs, and batted down two passes in the 24-17 win over Community Christian. How is Hodges able to play that many snaps? Hodges has been playing both ways since he was six years old, and he also wrestles, "Wrestling has helped a ton with stamina." Last year in wrestling, Hodges got third in Texas Prep State to qualify for Nationals and first in SPC (Southwestern Preparatory Conference). Ace Hodges also trains with Oklahoma's most respected defensive line trainer, Christian "Chief" Littlehead. Hodges told The Crimson Captain how he met Chief, "I met Chief at a Prep Redzone Camp; I knew I could play O-Line or D-Line, I just wasn't sure which yet, and I didn't have anyone that could train me or teach me D-Line. He started talking about how he does privates and stuff. Now, here we are. He is just a great guy; the way he just goes through the drills and explains everything really works well. He is amazing at what he does."
Ace Hodges told The Crimson Captain about his relationship with Head Coach Brent Venables: "He is a great guy. You can tell he is very passionate about what he does. Some of these coaches will recruit a kid somewhere, and then it will be like they never met you; you are just another number in the system. Venables, you can tell, isn't like that at all. He genuinely cares about the kids on his team, which I love. Having a player's coach who is so committed and faith-based is amazing." Hodges also spoke highly of Defensive Line Coach Todd Bates and Defensive End Coach Miguel Chavis: "I love Bates and Chavis. Bates texts me all the time; he actually sends me a daily devotional. On Friday, he sent me a video of him doing his poem or rap thing he does sometimes; it's just great. Chavis, the energy he brings is different; it's wonderful."
Ace Hodges looks to make it down to Norman as much as possible for Game Days this season. Hodges returned to Norman for the first time since the "Party at The Palace" to watch the Sooners shut out the Arkansas State Red Wolves 73-0, "Being in that environment for the first time in a while, now as a commit, it was very good. In the game itself, I thought we were going to put up 100." Hodges was impressed with the Sooners' ability to rotate in 87 players, "It is just good when you get that many people in and still put up 73 points. You don't see that even in high school games hardly. It's not like they are playing a random D3 school; we're still playing a D1 school." Hodges is excited to watch Team 129 play this season and is eager to be a part of Team 130.
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