Across the college football landscape, and maybe most prominently in the Big Ten, 2005 has been the year of the linebacker.
Throughout the league, solid linebacker corps each sport one standout player'Penn State's Paul Posluszny, Ohio State's A.J. Hawk and Northwestern's Tim McGarigle. But only one team in the Big Ten, and arguably the nation, has as talented and driven a duo as the Iowa Hawkeyes. But what really sets this tandem apart is the divergent paths each traveled on his way to Iowa City.
One comes from a warm weather climate, one cold. One from the city, the other the country. One from a recruiting hotbed, the other a state often completely overlooked by recruiters. Notice a trend here? But these differing backgrounds are what make the friendship of seniors Abdul Hodge and Chad Greenway all the more unique.
'Our backgrounds are different but we both share the same characteristics, we are both hard workers and determined to get better on the field and be leaders,' Hodge said of their bond. 'The backgrounds don't have any effect on our friendship. It just as a person makes you better, because it makes you more diverse and open minded.'
A prime example of the differences that bring them together can be seen in their tastes in music.
'We argue about country and rap a lot. He thinks that rap started country, which is completely ridiculous,' Greenway said. 'How does that work? Rap started in the '80s.'
And who has control over the music when they are driving somewhere?
'I'm the one with the car. Rap doesn't play in my car,' Greenway asserted.
Hailing from Mount Vernon, S.D., it is easy to see where Greenway's love of country music stems from. However, it is much harder to see his transformation from lightly recruited small town kid to 2005 preseason All-American. The same can be said for Hodge, the Fort Lauderdale, Fla. native who was passed over in the recruiting game by traditional Florida collegiate powers and eventually heeded the words of Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz and wound up a Hawkeye.
Despite developing a close relationship almost instantly as they redshirted their freshmen year, they quickly began to measure their accomplishments against what the other had achieved. This competitive relationship stretches all the way to the classroom, where Hodge currently holds a 0.2 GPA lead.
'It's all fun. I try to compete with him because we are in a lot of the same classes,' Hodge noted. 'When a paper is due, trust me, I'm putting a little more time in than I think he is. If I know he has a paper coming up, I'm gonna work a little harder on mine.'
This work ethic on and off the field has helped Hodge and Greenway transform themselves into players far superior to their highly recruited high school counterparts, all the while bringing the Iowa football program back to national prominence.
Despite arriving in Iowa City in 2001 when the Hawkeyes were coming off a disappointing three win season, they immediately liked what they saw.
'To say I knew we would be having three 10-win seasons would be saying a lot, but I knew that we had a group of players that could do good things,' Hodge said. 'As a player it makes you feel that good. It makes you feel good that you have put work in and contributed to the program's success. Looking back on it a few years from now you can pat yourself on the back and say I was part of that.'
Coming off stellar seasons in 2004, Hodge and Greenway both could have easily made the jump to the NFL as numerous scouts had them pegged as definitive first day choices, and likely first round picks. However, Hawkeye fans breathed a sigh of relief during the offseason when both announced they would return, with the hopes of a Big Ten title and national championship serving as their incentive.
'Everyone was dealing up the hype that we were going to leave,' Hodge said, referring to Hawkeye fans' fear of his and Greenway's departure. 'But me and him knew that we wanted to stay and improve and get better.'
Though neither of those two preseason goals remain within reach after stumbling in recent weeks, Hodge and Greenway could still beat Wisconsin for the fourth consecutive time which would go a long way towards wrapping up their remarkable collegiate careers.
