From successful high school quarterback to college quarterback and now transitioning into the world of coaching, Dodge DeLozier has always had football and sports in his DNA.
The 2019 Hereford graduate and three-year signal caller for the Whitefaces has taken everything he’s learned through the game of football and is now paying it forward during his second year as an assistant coach for the Class 3A Division II Brady Bulldogs.
DeLozier is coaching his specialty in the quarterbacks as well as the secondary for a Bulldog team that is 7-1 so far on the year with a 3-0 mark in district.
“I’m really enjoying coaching, and I love coaching here at Brady,” DeLozier said. “This is the type of coaching staff I grew up with in Hereford. From the athletic director C.J. Villegas that hired me, to the football coach Jaren Roberts and the entire staff. We have fun working together and all have a vested interest in making young men and women better. Brady is a lot like Hereford. We don’t have a one superstar. We have a bunch of blue-collar guys that put in the work. I love that because that’s what I grew up in.”
DeLozier, only 23-years-old, is wise beyond his years thanks to growing up in a coaching family. His father, Don, was the head man at Hereford for 18 seasons building a winning culture. Don says his son took an immediate passion to football from a very young age.
“It’s special to watch Dodge get to where he’s at,” Don said. “I’ve watched him since he was little, and he just loves football. He could call plays by the time he was in second grade, and he was always in the fieldhouse every minute of every day.”
In his second year at Navarro JC, playing in the spring of 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the lefty found success throwing for 1,343 yards with touchdowns in five games earning him Southwest Junior College Football Conference Offensive Player of the Year.
That season earned him a Division I scholarship at Jackson State under high profile head coach and NFL Hall of Famer, Deion Sanders before he landed the University of Colorado gig. However, after one year at Jackson State, DeLozier ended his playing career due to a knee injury.
In his two years at Navarro JC, Parr spent many hours with DeLozier in the film room and always saw something in him that was special.
“I got to know Dodge through his dad,” Parr said. “Dodge fit the system we ran, and he ended up being a player of the year. He succeeded expectations because of his ability to grasp concepts and his knowledge for the game. He adapted quickly to the junior college environment. I always knew he’d make a great coach because of the respect he earned with our team and everyone that played against him.”
While DeLozier credits his father for teaching him the game and what it takes to be a coach, DeLozier has branched out to learn under many different minds like Parr.
“My dad never sat me down and said this is how you coach, or you have to do it this way,” DeLozier said. “What he did do that I take with me is he set a great example, and I learned a lot from that. I think I learned a ton of football knowledge from coach Parr and many others including the staff I’m on now. I feel I’m a branch of coach Parr, but one thing my dad did always teach me was how to build relationships and that’s one thing I’ve taken with me.”
Hearing how DeLozier is able to grow and build young players by building relationships is something Don loves to hear.
“I love seeing Dodge branch out and I think it’s great to see him raising young men the right way,” Don said. “That’s what we tried to do at Hereford is motivate the next generation. Dodge is getting to be around a lot of great minds and I’m just so proud of him and the man he’s becoming.”