Isaiah Hodgins: One of the best receivers nobody knows about

Some of the best players in college football didn’t start on everybody’s radar, but through their play raise their profile. One of those players goes by the name of Isaiah Hodgins of the Oregon State Beavers.

For those outside of Corvallis or those who don’t pay attention to the Pac-12 Hodgins is a budding star who is getting better with every game. This past weekend Hodgins made a bigger name for himself by catching three touchdown passes against UCLA in the Rose Bowl Stadium.

Hodgins came out of high school as a 4-star football recruit from Walnut Creek, California. He was ranked as the 276th best player in the country by 247sports.com. After he decommitted from Washington State in high school, Hodgins chose Oregon State over the Oregon Ducks, Wisconsin Badgers, Nebraska Cornhuskers, and Michigan Wolverines. Those are some heavy hitters when it comes to college football recruiting and to choose the Beavers says he beats to his own drum.

Utah head coach, Kyle Whittingham knows who he has to defend when his Utah Utes go to Corvallis this weekend.

“He’s a big time receiver.” Whittingham said.

When a coach like Whittingham keeps his comments about a player to five words you know Hodgins is a big concern for Utah.

Every year Hodgins has been in an Oregon State uniform he has bettered his game. Isaiah Hodgins has the measurables that you would want in a big time wideout. Hodgins is 6’4”, 210lbs, and big hands. Isaiah’s route running is continually being worked on. He’s a decent route runner, but is deceptive with his ability to separate from cornerbacks.

Since the opening game against Oklahoma State where Hodgins had nine catches for 170 yards, Hodgins hasn’t had a game with less than seven catches or a game where he had below 81 yards. For the year, Hodgins already has 43 catches for 632 yards. Hodgins should be able to pass his totals for 2018 with ease.

• 2017 totals: 31 catches, 275 yards, 8.9 yards/catch (freshman)
• 2018 totals: 59 catches, 856 yards, 14.8 yards/catch (sophomore)
• 2019 totals (so far): 43 catches, 632 yards, 14.7 yards/catch (junior)

People are finally starting to notice Hodgins and the potential he possesses. Isaiah is on the Biletnikoff Award Watch List for the best receiver in college football, so he is garnering some national notoriety. Not enough though.

Some of this is simply due to the fact that the Beavers are not a winning program and that the program resides in Corvallis, Oregon. Not exactly the bastion of sports news.

I got a chance to talk with Isaiah Hodgins at the Pac-12 Football Media Day back in July and he was chomping at the bit to get this season going. I could tell that Hodgins had that fire in him to be the best player he could be.

Hodgins also takes his role as a leader seriously.

“I think I have solidified myself as a leader. I have to keep leading by example and being an upperclassman I believe it’s my job to be good leader for this team.” Hodgins said.

When you talk with Hodgins you get a chance to see the maturity that has enveloped him since he has been on campus. One of the reasons for that is the fact that he has recently got married. Marriage has a funny way of settling a guy down and helping him focus.

Hodgins is getting attention from the NFL Scouts.

Pro scouts love his ability to high point the ball, his hand radius, and the balance he shows as he goes to catch a ball. Scouts like that once he gets in the open field he will finish his runs hard. As I mentioned earlier, his size is a big deal to NFL teams. I thought the same thing with former Sun Devil N’Keal Harry. Harry has the size, huge hands, can high point the ball very well, and plays a physical brand of football.

“One of the best things I do is catch the ball at it’s high point. I spend a lot of time after practice working on that with my quarterback and the coaches.” Hodgins said at Media Day.

If Hodgins can continue to put up the numbers he is on track for he’ll get into that discussion for a possible first round draft pick.

For the time being, Oregon State coaches and fans are happy that he is wearing the orange and black of the Beavers. Isaiah Hodgins is giving Beaver fans something to look forward to on Saturday’s and giving hope to the football program.