Offense or defense? Some assistants benefit from doing both
By STEVE MEGARGEE
AP Sports Writer
Abdul Hodge is a former three-time all-Big Ten linebacker who played the position in the NFL and spent three years coaching future linebackers at South Dakota. The former Iowa star now is working on the other side of the ball as he returns to his alma mater and coaches the Hawkeyes’ fullbacks and tight ends. Hodge compares the new assignment to learning a different language. Hodge is one of four Big Ten assistants coaching on the opposite side of the ball from where they coached last year. The others are Michigan’s Ron Bellamy and Jay Harbaugh and Wisconsin’s Bob Bostad.