Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

IOWA CITY – Neil James and AJ Hodge teamed up to give West High one to of the top cornerback tandems in the state last season.

This year James and Hodge are each making slight position changes in the West High secondary with the goal to give the Trojans one of the state’s best defenses.

James and Hodge played a critical role in breakthrough season for the West High defense a year ago.

After allowing 30 points and 381 yards per game during a 6-5 season in 2024 the Trojans held opponents to 21.3 points and 282 total yards per game while going 8-3 and reaching the 5A quarterfinals last season.

The focus for James and Hodge this season is taking things a step forward this season and that starts with being more productive anchors in a talented Trojan secondary.

“I feel very confident in our back end,” James said. “We have some really talented guys coming back, we are experienced, we are talented and we have a lot of guys coming back so I am very confident that can be our strength.”

The returning strength in numbers has allowed first-year West High defensive coordinator Cory Quail to move both Hodge and James into positions that will maximize the diverse skill sets of both of the talented seniors.

Hodge moves from corner to a hybrid safety role in the Trojan secondary which allows him to play both in coverage and at the line of scrimmage.

“I feel like I can play any position in the secondary but this allows me to be around the ball more,” Hodge said. “Now I’m not just on an island, I can help in the run fit, I can help in the flat, I can move around. I feel like it’s more opportunities to help my team.”

A strong coverage corner, the 6-foot-1, 175-pound Hodge showed an impressive ability as a physical and sure open field tackler last season.

Hodge ranked fifth on the team with 32.5 tackles including two tackles for loss while ranking second on the team with six passes defended and added an interception.

“He’s a unique athlete so the position we have him in on defense he is going to have to use both of his skillsets and that’s tackling and coverage,” West High coach Garrett Hartwig said of Hodge. “There are two key spots on our defense and he’s in one of those two and that’s kind of a hybrid spot and we are going to rely on his ability and talent.”

The strong junior season from Hodge helped him pick up college offers from University of Tennessee Martin, Austin Peay, Missouri State, Lindenwood, Northern Iowa and South Dakota.

This season Hodge is focused on helping West High take another big step on defense after his play aided in the Trojans allowing opponents to complete just 56 percent of their passes last season.

“We are really strict about what we let up on defense,” Hodge said. “We don’t want any explosive passes and we need to punish receivers for catching the ball and we are really big on that.”

Playing opposite of Hodge last season James emerged as one of the state’s best cover corners.
This season the athletic 6-foot-2, 180-pound James moves to safety where he will be able to use his top-notch track speed to track the football.

“Neil has range from sideline to sideline and he’s smart so we want to put him in a position to make more plays on the football this year,” Hartwig said. “Last year he didn’t statistically jump off the chart but teams weren’t throwing at him either so he’ll have a chance this year to roam a little more and find the ball on his own.”

James had 16 tackles and led West High with eight passes defended from his corner back spot last season.

He added an interception that he returned 29 yards for a touchdown.

“I think it suits my strengths I am able to go get the ball,” James said of playing safety. “I am able to come down and make a tackle and I feel really confident that this is my best position.”

James claims offers from St. Thomas University, Butler and Drake along with Division II schools Minnesota State, Sioux Falls, Winona State and Upper Iowa.

With the graduation of three seniors that combined for 101 receptions for 2,041 yards and 22 touchdowns last season James also expects to take on a larger role on offense this season.

An opportunity he relishes.

“I just want to improve my production on both sides of the ball but especially on offense,” James said. “I was a back up last year but I definitely feel like that is an area I need to improve one. I also want to getting more tackles and more picks.”

For West High to reach its goals this season the Trojans are looking for James and Hodge to lead a secondary that should be the strength for the Trojans.

Hartwig wants to use the experience of seniors like James, Hodge and cornerback Cade Towler in the secondary to help the Trojan front seven.

“I think you have to put the pressure on those guys to make the adjustments and let the guys up front just play,” Hartwig said. “We want to make the assignments up front easy so they have one maybe two jobs so they can do it really well and put the pressure with the adjustments with those guys in the back that have the experience.”

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