FORT WORTH, Texas — In football, there are players you respect and players you fear. TCU linebacker Jamoi Hodge instills both.

In life, and especially in football, you’re either the hunter or the hunted.  

“Nobody wants to be hunted,” Hodge said. “Like, I’d rather be the hunter. I’d rather go get something than sit there and wait for someone to come get me.”

That mindset is nothing new to Hodge. The aggression started at 4 years old when his mom signed him up for flag football.  

“We did like a hitting drill one time, and I hit somebody hard. Like real hard,” said Jamoi. “Then the coach was like, yeah, you on defense. I just like to make plays.”

There’s no shortage of that when Hodge takes the field. He’s one of the best linebackers in the Big 12. And here’s the irony: he didn’t have one Division I offer coming out of high school. So, he took the long way. 

“That was always my dream growing up,” he said. “I had an opportunity to go to junior college. I know it was a longer road and a harder road. But I took that gamble on myself.”

So, what was the feeling like when the gamble paid off and he joined the Horned Frogs? 

“It felt amazing, especially where I come from. Not too many people pursue the football dream and go to a power five,” he said. “It felt good when I got here to be able to accomplish something.”

TCU’s National Championship run in 2022 meant so much to so many people. So, naturally the question is how can the Horned Frogs mirror the success they had just a season ago? Unfortunately, with already a handful of losses this year, the dream of getting back to a National Championship stage will have to wait until 2024.

“We just got to do what we do: play TCU football,” Hodge said. “We have to worry about ourselves and do what we’ve been doing to make improvements.”