Preseason Perspective: CAL QB Cole Hodge
We’re just two months away from the start of another high school football season in the state of Kentucky. Heading into the season, KSR will be interviewing some of the state’s brightest high school football stars, getting to hear some thoughts and perspectives before another exciting year of football in the Commonwealth. First, we spoke with Corbin’s Kade Elam. Next up is CAL’s Cole Hodge.
Cole Hodge, the second-highest ranked quarterback in the class of 2024 from the state of Kentucky, led Christian Academy-Louisville to just their third-ever state championship victory last season (2016, 2018, 2022) with a 38-0 drumming of Bardstown. Hodge completely dominated the Tigers, throwing for 175 yards and three touchdowns. One of those touchdowns was thrown to his brother, Connor Hodge. The Hodge Brothers will be playing their third and final season together this year.
“It’s the coolest thing ever,” Hodge said about playing with his younger brother. “I can’t even describe how cool and how much fun it is to be on the same page with him as receiver and quarterback.”
The Hodge connection is already strong, as Cole connected with Connor for 472 yards and eight touchdowns last season. Connor, a three-star recruit from the class of 2025, is currently mulling offers from UT Martin, Central Michigan, Georgia Southern, and his brother’s future school, East Carolina.
“My favorite memory is throwing a touchdown to [Connor] in the state championship game,” Cole said. “That was a really cool experience and a life-long memory.”
Hodge and the Centurions absolutely bulldozed class 3A competition last season, going an undefeated 15-0 with a whopping 41.2-point average margin of victory. Cole ranked first in 3A in passing yards (2,949) and passing touchdowns (48) by a wide margin. His 48 passing touchdowns were 19 more than Casey County’s Ethan Willoughby, who finished second in 3A with 29. It’s safe to say expectations for CAL will be insanely high this season.
But Cole just takes it day by day.
“Every day in practice matters,” Hodge said. “You’ve got to just keep doing the little things that help you in the long run. Competing with the guys and having a good team bond goes a long way.”
After winning the school’s third state championship last season, there’s no doubt that CAL fans will be expecting their fourth this upcoming season. “The fanbase from CAL and the support from all around Louisville last year was awesome and was a really cool experience I’ll remember forever.”
Cole was a hot commodity following his impressive junior season, garnering college offers from schools such as East Carolina, Memphis, Appalachian State, and UAB. Just earlier this month, Hodge announced his commitment to coach Mike Houston and the ECU Pirates of the American Conference. Cole detailed his decision, saying “The coaching staff is amazing, as they have full belief in me and that means a lot. The fanbase is awesome, as they had 52,000 fans at their first home game. It’s a football town and they just love their football.”
Cole’s commitment to the Pirates sets up a monster matchup between two Division I quarterback commits next season when Lexington Christian Academy and Kentucky commit Cutter Boley travel to Louisville for a matchup with the Centurions in week four. Cole and Cutter go way back, as they are actually former AAU basketball teammates. “I’m really excited to play the schedule because LCA will be a really tough game. I actually played AAU basketball with [Cutter], so he’s my boy. It’s going to be a great game and I’m sure it’ll be a great atmosphere. I’m really looking forward to it.”
Although we’re still around two months away from the start of high school football season, it’s hard not to get excited about some of the major matchups scheduled next season. Next season very well may be one of the best in the history of Kentucky high school football.
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