Occidental Coaches Hope ‘The Disease’ Infects the Defense

During the past two years, “The Disease” has struck countless Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football players, often leaving those afflicted in a crumpled heap of pain.

“The Disease” is Dave Hodges, an Occidental College outside linebacker who got his nickname not because he leaves players ailing but because of his hands. Hodges’ knuckles, riddled with tiny pink scars, look as if they have been scraped against a cheese grater. Friends commented that his hands looked diseased. In actuality, the wounds weren’t notched by a kitchen appliance but by Hodges’ intense contact on the field.

And even though Hodges wears protective hand pads, the constant grabbing and twisting that takes place in the trenches leaves his hands covered in blood by the end of a game.

And when training camp opens today, Coach Dale Widolff hopes that Hodges will infect his Occidental teammates.

“If our whole team had his attitude, we’d be playing for a national title every year,” said Widolff, whose teams have compiled a 43-15-2 record and won four SCIAC titles in his six years at Occidental. “If all our guys improved at the same rate he has, we’d have offensive linemen that bench 350 (pounds) and weigh 240. We’d have some great players.”

But don’t expect to hear Hodges talking himself up.

“I don’t think Dave said a word his entire freshman year,” said Parris DeVine, outside linebacker coach. “He leads by example.”

At 6 feet, 4 inches and 210 pounds, Hodges is svelte for a linebacker. His rangy frame, however, is deceptive.

“The first time I ever saw him play, the thing that impressed me was on one snap he’d be down in a three-point stance rushing the passer and on the next snap he’d be playing the pass like a deep safety,” said Widolff, who recruited Hodges out of Long Beach Wilson High. “He had a bad knee so he had this big old knee brace out there. Like a warrior.”

At Occidental, his deep pass coverage duties have been reduced. He is mainly responsible for rushing the passer and defending the tight end.

Versatility aside, Hodges’ mean streak is his main asset--he loves to hit.

“It’s adrenaline going crazy,” said Hodges, whose shoulder-length, blond hair makes him look as if he should be waxing a surf board rather than polishing off a quarterback. “It’s almost psychopathic.”

Hodges’ overly aggressive play has not always come without a price. In one game, La Verne trailed by a point after a touchdown. On the extra-point attempt, Hodges was assigned to nullify the tight end, with whom he had fought the entire game.

Hodges said he had intended to knock the tight end to the ground, but his target sidestepped him instead, found his way into the end zone and caught the game-winning two-point conversion pass.

“I felt really bad,” Hodges said. “Now I’m trying to be a little more responsible. I’m not letting anger like that get in the way.”

But to be effective, Devine says Hodges must find a middle ground between blind anger and restraint.

“He has to have a no-mercy attitude,” the linebacker coach said. “If he just goes through the motions, it will hurt us.”

Widolff says there is little danger Hodges will grow complacent.

“He’s a real work-ethic kind of guy,” he said. “He comes to practice with a mission to get better.”