http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080912/SPORTS030103/809120336/1109
OXFORD — Ole Miss quarterback Jevan Snead has often said his level of trust with the team’s receivers is high. On Saturday, with one fling of the football, he proved it.
Flushed out of the pocket, Snead made what looked like a wild throw toward the end zone where receiver Shay Hodge and a Wake Forest defensive back stood fighting for position. It was essentially a jump ball, with both players having an equal opportunity to catch it.
And after a quick jab step with his feet, Hodge boxed out the defender and rose high into the air, coming down with a 28-yard touchdown catch to give the Rebels a 14-7 lead.
“It meant a lot to me,” Hodge said. “That’s somebody trusting in you and believing in you. When (Snead) first got the job I told him that if he ever got in trouble, he could throw it to me in one-on-one coverage and I’d come down with it.”
Though Snead professes to have no favorites in the receiving corps, his comfort throwing to Hodge is evident. Through the season’s first two games, the 6-foot-1, 207-pound junior from Morton has caught seven passes for a team-high 145 yards and three touchdowns.
Dating back to last season, Hodge has caught a touchdown in five straight games.
“It’s beautiful,” coach Houston Nutt said. “He’s got great timing. Physical. A real nose for the ball.”
Though he caught 43 passes for 593 yards and six touchdowns last season, Hodge has sometimes been an afterthought on his own team, falling in the shadow of the flashier Mike Wallace and Dexter McCluster.
But Ole Miss receivers coach Ron Dickerson said teams that don’t show Hodge the proper respect on defense will continue to pay like they have the past two weeks.
Clarion Ledger.com
9/12/08
