Skills & Drills | Elijah Hodge | Linebackers

Elijah Hodge is the former Inside Linebackers coach at the University of South Dakota. Before joining South Dakota, Hodge held various roles at Sarasota County School District, Roxbury Prep Charter, Muriel Snowden International School, and Phoenix Charter Academy. In 2021, he founded Linebacker Performance, a program designed to provide fundamental training for Middle School, High School, and College Linebackers to excel at the position. Hodge played Linebacker at Wisconsin.

Progression of Block Destruction: 

Strike Series 

Vertical Leverage: 

• Low man wins: Stay low to gain leverage. Focus on keeping your eyes on the opponent’s chin. 

Horizontal Leverage: 

• Hands inside the arms: Place your hands inside the opponent’s arms, with your left thumb at 10 o’clock and your right thumb at 2 o’clock.  

Power Position: 

• Align your knee with the center of their body to stay balanced and ready for contact. 

• Drop your knees over your toes while digging your toes into the ground to create a solid base of support. 

• Keep hips back and hands in a holster position, ready to strike. 

Strike: 

• Ramp up the technique and work on the proper placement of your hands, aiming to strike with power.  

Offset Variations: 

• Offset to the right: Place your left hand aiming at the sternum and your right hand targeting the armpit. 

• Offset to the left: Now reverse the hand placement: right hand on the sternum and left hand towards the armpit. 

• 2-Point Position Drill: 

• Perform the same drill from a 2-point stance, with special emphasis on keeping your knee aligned with the center of the opponent’s body for better leverage and position. 

This progression focuses on developing proper hand placement, leverage, and striking technique, all while maintaining a strong, balanced base and keeping the head out of the action to ensure safety and effectiveness in block destruction.