Hodge Named Assistant Linebackers Coach
Feb 13 | Football
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers football head coach Greg Schiano has named Elijah Hodge assistant linebackers coach. Working with Scarlet Knight defensive coordinator Travis Johansen at South Dakota from 2022-24, which featured two trips to the FCS Playoffs quarterfinals, he played in the Big Ten at Wisconsin and brings administrative leadership experience to New Jersey.
Hodge, who was born in the Virgin Islands and attended Dillard High School in South Florida, coached two players who reached the NFL. Following the 2024 season, linebacker Brock Mogensen signed as an undrafted free agent with the Dallas Cowboys, while Stephen Hillis earned a rookie minicamp invite with the Buffalo Bills.
The 2024 campaign featured a South Dakota defense that sat top 10 in scoring defense (seventh, 17.6) and top 20 in rushing defense (17th, 116.1). The Coyotes put together one of the best seasons in school history with an 11-3 (7-1 MVFC) record with a share of the MVFC title and a trip to the FCS Playoffs semifinals, both program firsts. Linebacker Gary Bryant III posted a team-high 103 tackles.
After recording 113 stops during the 2023 season, Mogensen earned MVFC Defensive Player of the Year, first team All-America by multiple outlets and was a finalist for the Buck Buchannan Award, an honor presented to the best defensive player at the FCS level. The team ranked No. 4 in the final FCS rankings (STATS Perform and AFCA), picking up the first 10-win season in the DI FCS era and first since 1986 as a program, the most MVFC wins in a season and the first trip to the FCS Playoffs quarterfinal round. The defense ranked in the top 25 in the FCS in three defensive categories: No. 8 in scoring defense (17.7), No. 18 in passing defense (180.8) and No. 25 in total defense (323.3).
Hodge's stop at South Dakota marked his collegiate coaching debut following a variety of previous experiences. That included helping build the varsity team at Roxbury Prep Charter in the Boston, Massachusetts, area in 2018. He led the team to the playoffs in back-to-back seasons and won the first playoff game in school history.
A number of administrative leadership roles led him to the Boston area. Hodge was the coordinator of retention and support for Phoenix Charter Academy in 2012, the dean of culture and climate at Muriel Snowden International School in 2013 and was dean of students at Roxbury Prep from 2017-20. Hodge earned his master's degree in educational leadership from Boston College in 2020.
In early 2021, Hodge founded Linebacker Performance, which provides middle, high school and college linebackers technical training and comprehensive linebacker education. He also worked within the Sarasota County School District.
Hodge played linebacker for three seasons at Wisconsin (2006-08) and one at Northern Iowa (2009). As a sophomore with the Badgers, he made 11 starts and finished third on the team with 67 stops. A two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree, Hodge graduated from Wisconsin with a bachelor's degree in sociology before playing one final season at Northern Iowa, where he finished the 2009 campaign as the Panthers' fourth-leading tackler.
Personal
Hometown: St. Thomas, Virgin Islands
Alma Mater: Wisconsin, 2009
Wife: Zina
Children: Daughter, Emory; Son, Elias
Coaching History
2026-present: Rutgers (assistant linebackers)
2022-24: South Dakota (inside linebackers)
2018-20: Roxbury Prep Charter (head coach)
Follow Rutgers football on X (@RFootball & @RUboardwalk), Facebook (/RFootballShow) and Instagram (@rfootball & @ruboardwalk) for the latest news and updates. Also subscribe to the YouTube channel.
Hodge, who was born in the Virgin Islands and attended Dillard High School in South Florida, coached two players who reached the NFL. Following the 2024 season, linebacker Brock Mogensen signed as an undrafted free agent with the Dallas Cowboys, while Stephen Hillis earned a rookie minicamp invite with the Buffalo Bills.
The 2024 campaign featured a South Dakota defense that sat top 10 in scoring defense (seventh, 17.6) and top 20 in rushing defense (17th, 116.1). The Coyotes put together one of the best seasons in school history with an 11-3 (7-1 MVFC) record with a share of the MVFC title and a trip to the FCS Playoffs semifinals, both program firsts. Linebacker Gary Bryant III posted a team-high 103 tackles.
After recording 113 stops during the 2023 season, Mogensen earned MVFC Defensive Player of the Year, first team All-America by multiple outlets and was a finalist for the Buck Buchannan Award, an honor presented to the best defensive player at the FCS level. The team ranked No. 4 in the final FCS rankings (STATS Perform and AFCA), picking up the first 10-win season in the DI FCS era and first since 1986 as a program, the most MVFC wins in a season and the first trip to the FCS Playoffs quarterfinal round. The defense ranked in the top 25 in the FCS in three defensive categories: No. 8 in scoring defense (17.7), No. 18 in passing defense (180.8) and No. 25 in total defense (323.3).
Hodge's stop at South Dakota marked his collegiate coaching debut following a variety of previous experiences. That included helping build the varsity team at Roxbury Prep Charter in the Boston, Massachusetts, area in 2018. He led the team to the playoffs in back-to-back seasons and won the first playoff game in school history.
A number of administrative leadership roles led him to the Boston area. Hodge was the coordinator of retention and support for Phoenix Charter Academy in 2012, the dean of culture and climate at Muriel Snowden International School in 2013 and was dean of students at Roxbury Prep from 2017-20. Hodge earned his master's degree in educational leadership from Boston College in 2020.
In early 2021, Hodge founded Linebacker Performance, which provides middle, high school and college linebackers technical training and comprehensive linebacker education. He also worked within the Sarasota County School District.
Hodge played linebacker for three seasons at Wisconsin (2006-08) and one at Northern Iowa (2009). As a sophomore with the Badgers, he made 11 starts and finished third on the team with 67 stops. A two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree, Hodge graduated from Wisconsin with a bachelor's degree in sociology before playing one final season at Northern Iowa, where he finished the 2009 campaign as the Panthers' fourth-leading tackler.
Personal
Hometown: St. Thomas, Virgin Islands
Alma Mater: Wisconsin, 2009
Wife: Zina
Children: Daughter, Emory; Son, Elias
Coaching History
2026-present: Rutgers (assistant linebackers)
2022-24: South Dakota (inside linebackers)
2018-20: Roxbury Prep Charter (head coach)
Follow Rutgers football on X (@RFootball & @RUboardwalk), Facebook (/RFootballShow) and Instagram (@rfootball & @ruboardwalk) for the latest news and updates. Also subscribe to the YouTube channel.
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