 Hood in 2016 | |||||||||||||
| No. 96, 92, 90, 97 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Defensive tackle | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born: | (1987-02-16)February 16, 1987 (age 38) Amarillo, Texas, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight: | 305 lb (138 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school: | Amarillo (TX) Palo Duro | ||||||||||||
| College: | Missouri (2005–2008) | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2009: 1st round, 32nd pick | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
Evander Ja Mel "Ziggy"Hood (born February 16, 1987) is an American former professionalfootball player who was adefensive tackle in theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football for theMissouri Tigers, and was selected by thePittsburgh Steelers in the first round (32nd overall) of the2009 NFL draft. Hood was also a member of theJacksonville Jaguars,Chicago Bears,Washington Redskins,Miami Dolphins, andNew Orleans Saints.
Hood attendedPalo Duro High School inAmarillo, Texas, where he was a two-sport star in both football and track.[1] Inhigh school football, he earned All-District honors his junior and senior seasons. As a junior, he made 76 tackles, including 5.0 sacks and returned aninterception for a touchdown. As a senior, he was named 3-4A Defensive Player of the Year after making 93 tackles, including 13.0sacks, and scoring three defensivetouchdowns.
Intrack and field, Hood was one of the states top performers in the throwing events. He got top-throws of 15.50 meters (50 ft 8in) in theshot put and 50.55 meters (165 ft 7in) in thediscus throw.[2]
Hood played college football at theUniversity of Missouri.[1] During his college career, he playeddefensive tackle. He finished with 170 tackles (98 solos), 15.5 sacks, 22.5 tackles for loss and 22 quarterback pressures. He also had five forced fumbles, recovering three.
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft2+7⁄8 in (1.90 m) | 300 lb (136 kg) | 33+3⁄4 in (0.86 m) | 9+5⁄8 in (0.24 m) | 4.97 s | 1.73 s | 2.86 s | 4.45 s | 7.32 s | 34.5 in (0.88 m) | 9 ft 8 in (2.95 m) | 36 reps | |
| Sources:[3][4] | ||||||||||||
He was selected in the first round, 32nd overall, by thePittsburgh Steelers in the2009 NFL draft.[5] He moved to defensive end in the Steelers'3–4 defense, and served as a rotational back-up in his rookie year. Hood recorded both his firstsack and first recoveredfumble against theBaltimore Ravens on December 27, 2009.
At the end of the 2010 season, Hood and the Steelers appeared inSuper Bowl XLV against theGreen Bay Packers. He had one total tackle in the 31–25 loss.[6]
On March 13, 2014, Hood signed a four-year, $16 million contract with theJacksonville Jaguars.[7] The Jaguars released him on October 20, 2015.[8]
On October 22, 2015, theChicago Bears signed Hood following the release ofJeremiah Ratliff.[9] On December 15, 2015, he was waived.[10]
On February 2, 2016, Hood signed a one-year contract with theWashington Redskins.[11] Hood re-signed on March 15, 2017.[12]
On October 16, 2018, Hood was released by the Redskins.[13]
On October 30, 2018, Hood was signed by theMiami Dolphins.[14]
On July 24, 2019, Hood signed with theNew Orleans Saints.[15] He was released on August 31, 2019.[16]
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Fumbles | Interceptions | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Comb | Total | Ast | Sack | FF | FR | Yards | Int | Yards | Avg | Long | TD | PD | ||
| 2009 | PIT | 16 | 0 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 1.0 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2010 | PIT | 16 | 9 | 20 | 15 | 5 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2011 | PIT | 16 | 14 | 31 | 19 | 12 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2012 | PIT | 16 | 16 | 42 | 25 | 17 | 3.0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 2013 | PIT | 16 | 7 | 39 | 26 | 13 | 3.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014 | JAX | 16 | 0 | 24 | 17 | 7 | 1.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 | CHI | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | WSH | 16 | 14 | 33 | 17 | 16 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 2017 | WSH | 15 | 13 | 25 | 13 | 12 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | WSH | 5 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| MIA | 8 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Career[17] | 142 | 73 | 231 | 141 | 90 | 14.0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | |
Hood was named by his father after formerprofessional boxerEvander Holyfield, of whom his father was a fan. He is of half Mexican ancestry. During his childhood, his Mexican grandmother could not correctly pronounce Evander, so she started calling him by the name of her favorite cartoon character,Ziggy.[18]
