Tommy Hodson

Thomas Paul Hodson (born January 28, 1967 in Mathews, Louisiana) was an American football quarterback for the LSU Tigers and the National Football League.

Early life
Hodson was born in a small town in Lafourche Parish. He was the quarterback at Central Lafourche High School, where he passed for 4,361 yards and 36 touchdowns. He also played basketball, averaged 27.4 points per game.

College
In 1986, Hodson went to the Louisiana State University (LSU). As quarterback for LSU's football team, Hodson led LSU to two SEC Championships, first as a freshman (1986) and then as a junior (1988). During his 44 regular season games at LSU (1986–1989), Hodson passed for 9,115 yards and 69 touchdowns, becoming the first quarterback in SEC history to surpass 8,000 career passing yards, and the first quarterback in SEC history to surpass 60 career passing touchdowns. Hodson passed for over 2,000 yards during each of his four seasons at LSU, becoming the 3rd player in NCAA history to achieve that feat. During his freshman season, Hodson was voted to the first team All-SEC Team, becoming the first LSU quarterback to awarded that honor since the legendary Bert Jones (first team All-SEC Team, 1972). Hodson would go on to be selected to the first team of the All-SEC Team during each of his four seasons at LSU, becoming the only player in LSU history to achieve that feat.

During Hodson's freshman season (1986), he led LSU to its first AP Top 10 finish since 1970 and its first SEC Championship since 1970. In Hodson's first game, he led #14 LSU to a 35-17 victory over #7 Texas A&M (televised by ESPN). Later in the season, Hodson led #18 LSU to a 14-10 victory at #6 Alabama (televised by ESPN).

During Hodson's sophomore season (1987), he led LSU to its first AP Top 5 finish since 1961. Major victories included #6 LSU's 17-3 victory at #15 Texas A&M (televised by ESPN), #9 LSU's 34-9 victory at Tennessee (televised by TBS, it was LSU's first win ever at Neyland Stadium), #4 LSU's 13-13 tie with #7 Ohio State (televised by CBS), #7 LSU's 13-10 victory over #19 Florida (televised by ESPN), #7 LSU's 26-23 victory at #16 Georgia (televised by ESPN), and #7 LSU's 30-13 victory over #8 South Carolina in the Gator Bowl (televised by CBS).

During Hodson's junior season (1988), he led LSU to another SEC Championship, and a #19 finish in the AP Poll. Major victories included #18 LSU's 27-0 victory over #10 Texas A&M, LSU's 7-6 victory over #4 Auburn (the famous Earthquake Game), and #13 LSU's 19-18 victory at #18 Alabama. Also, during this 1988 season, many fans were perplexed that Hodson would be dating an Ole Miss cheerleader (See Diana Smith).

NFL
Hodson was selected 59th overall in the 1990 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots. He started the last 6 games of his rookie season, passing for 968 yards. However, during Hodson's next two seasons with the Patriots, he was only allowed 68 passing attempts in 1991 and 91 passing attempts in 1992. From 1993 to 1996, Hodson served as a back-up for the Miami Dolphins, the Dallas Cowboys, and the New Orleans Saints, but saw no playing time except for 5 passing attempts in 1995 for the Saints.

Later life
On February 2, 2005, the Boston Globe wrote a feature checking up on the former Patriot quarterback. In the article, the Globe quotes Hodson as saying: "Although I didn’t have great success as a professional I played six years and it was a great honor to play in the NFL. I am grateful I was able to play six years.” The Globe reported that Hodson lives in Baton Rouge with his wife and his 10-year-old identical twin daughters, and quoted Hodson as saying that he lives in Baton Rouge because he has "fond memories" at LSU and because Baton Rouge is "a good place to raise a family.”