By: Mike Still
Feature photo: Hodgson makes a catch during Winnipeg’s team scrimmage last week
When Tyler Hodgson first enrolled at Grant Park in middle school, football wasn’t the first thing on his mind.
“Originally when I went there in middle school it was because of the performing arts program. I did a lot of stuff like that,” the fourth-year Rifles receiver says.
“When I was in grade eight, I danced. So that’s what I did for physical activity. And I played intermurals and I played a little bit of basketball and hockey as a kid, but football just kind of found me.”
Hodgson had no previous experience with the sport until grade nine when his buddies convinced him to try it out. The rest is history.
“I fell in love with it. Just playing with friends and whatnot. And I was actually good at it. Other sports I’ve played I’ve been alright or not very good, but football seemed to click and I understand it.”
Originally a defensive back in grades nine and ten, a then 5’11” Hodgson shifted to playing both sides of the ball after hitting a massive growth spirt in grade 11.
“When I played DB I was only 5’11” which is normal size, but I guess when I got taller my lateral ability kind of suffered because my legs are a lot longer than most people. But I figured out that I could use my height as an advantage and that’s sort of why I started playing receiver, because of my size.”
It was impossible not to notice Hodgson during his senior year of high school in 2016. Now standing at 6’5″ he averaged a ridiculous 25 yards per catch, which drew the eyes of the Winnipeg Rifles who brought him into the fold after he graduated.
The Grant Park product noted that the speed of the junior game was an adjustment at first — something he’s worked on over the years with quarterbacks coach Ryan Marsch as well as the well-respected Glenn Bruce.
“It’s a lot more fast-paced, but you don’t really realize the difference until you go back and sort of watch high school and you sort of look at them and go holy, was I that slow? It’s a totally different kind of game.
My speed was always my weakest point and I couldn’t out-run anybody. But now that I’ve gotten better I can run and I can actually run routes properly, because I ran a lot of fades in high school. It was just the nature of things.”
Another key moment in Hodgson’s junior football career occurred a few years ago when Rifles alum Aaron Giesbrecht was brought into the fold as offensive coordinator. He implemented a hybrid Canadian-American style offence that saw Hodgson lining up both as a slotback and an h-back in order to fully capitalize on his size.
Giesbrecht’s approach was highly successful in 2018 as Hodgson enjoyed a breakout season that saw him finish second on the team in yards receiving with 248.
“I really like coach Giesbrecht. Him and I are similar in the fact that I’m not a guy who is screaming constantly and neither is he. He’s more of a laid back guy. He’s really good at just talking with us because he used to be in our position, being the first quarterback in Rifles history. He knows where we’re coming from and I like his offence. It’s easy to understand.”
With the graduation of both Brendan Naujoks (now with Manitoba) and Griffin Shillingford (now with Bishop’s), Hodgson will likely see even more targets in 2019 with a receiving corps that also includes Eric Klein, Dallas Opiola, Gabe Grenier, Luke McMillan, Timmy Solypa, Jake Roger and Sheycoy Selent.
Hodgson, as a team player is hoping that his attributes are able to make it easier for some of his fellow pass-catchers to make a difference. And if history is any indication, that should be the case.
“I just want to be able to set a tone. I want to be a guy that other teams take notice of. Nothing makes me smile more than when three DBs all try to triple team me and then it opens up some of my other teammates. That’s what I want to do. I want to be a guy that everyone vacuums to.”