As the Colorado football team was preparing to play in the Valero Alamo Bowl last December, Preston Hodge never expected he’d still be in college for the 2025 season.
He is, however, and the Buffaloes’ senior cornerback is doing all he can to make the most of an unexpected opportunity.
“I just promise y’all, y’all are gonna see a different Preston on that field,” Hodge told BuffZone.
A senior in 2024, Hodge missed the last four games with an injury and believed that would be the disappointing end to his college career.
“When I got hurt, I was trying to think about what I was going to do and how everything was going to go,” he said. “My dad or somebody just brought up maybe trying to get a redshirt, but I played too many games.”
Unknown to Hodge at the time, Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia had sued the NCAA, arguing that time spent at non-NCAA institutions (such as junior college or the NAIA) should not count towards eligibility.
On Dec. 18, a federal judge in Tennessee granted an injunction that allowed Pavia to get another year at Vandy. That ruling only applied to Pavia, but on Dec. 23 the NCAA granted a blanket waiver that allowed one more season of eligibility to all student-athletes who had spent time in JUCO or NAIA and would be out of eligibility at the end of the 2024-25 school year.
Hodge, who began his career in 2021 at Navarro (Texas) College, had a new shot.
“I was ecstatic, man,” he said. “I was pumped up to hear that. And then as soon as I saw that thing, me and my wife and my son, we went and celebrated. I was excited. It’s a blessing.”
Hodge became a father last September when his son, Ezra, was born. He became a husband when he married his fiancé, Cielo, this spring. With a young family, Hodge understands the importance of his opportunity in Boulder this season.
“(Cielo) knows where I’m supposed to be, and she knows that my season got cut short last year, and she knows what I’m capable of,” he said. “I just tried to change my mindset. After that happened, I had a lot of time to think, sit by myself alone and just do some thinking, and it’s a blessing.”
After his one year at Navarro, Hodge played two years at Liberty before coming to CU a year ago. He played well for the Buffs in his nine games in 2024, posting 33 tackles, two interceptions and seven pass breakups, but felt that had he gone into the NFL draft this year, “I would have probably been undrafted, been a free agent.”
Coming back this year gives Hodge an opportunity to elevate his NFL stock. He’s got all-conference potential and is one of the leaders for what is expected to be a solid CU defense.
“I know what I’m capable of, and I know what I’m good at,” he said. “I know that I will definitely get picked up in this year’s draft.”
Asked about another stellar corner on the roster, DJ McKinney, CU head coach Deion Sanders praised McKinney but shifted, unprompted, to Hodge.
“It’s a whole new Preston out there right now from what I’ve seen,” Sanders said. “He had a phenomenal year last year, but this year, the way he’s preparing it is crazy. And I’m happy and I’m thankful that he is where he is and who he is right now, because he’s a leader in that secondary right now.”
That leadership comes, in part, from his new stage of life.
“When my son came into this world, my whole perspective on life and everything has just changed,” he said.
It also comes from the opportunity in front of him. Usually not a vocal leader, Hodge is using his voice more while continuing to lead by example. He wants individual and team success in a season he didn’t expect to have at CU.
“Everything happens for a reason,” he said. “I wouldn’t change it for the world. God has blessed me with another year, and people are getting a different Preston this year, and y’all will see that on the field this year.”