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Mtn View, ASU alum Curtis Hodges works his way into NFL

BY HALEY SMILOW

Cronkite News

More than 600 yards and four touchdowns as an Arizona State receiver were not enough to get Curtis Hodges’ name called on NFL draft day. So Hodges did what he always does – he got to work.

“I understood the situation,” Hodges said this week. “I understood that I would have to go prove myself, but I knew I could play in this league.”

Apparently, he’s not the only one who feels that way: When the Washington Commanders host the Jacksonville Jaguars to open their season Sunday, Hodges will be on the Commanders’ sidelines, one of five tight ends on the team’s roster.

Growing up in Mesa, Hodges never imagined he would be playing professional football. He did not even start playing the game until his freshman year at Mountain View High School.

But once he started, he knew he wanted to keep playing at whatever level he could. He said he knew from that very first hit. “I went to the practice field, and I just hit somebody,” he said. “He fell and the coach got happy and ran up to me and I got a pancake.”

Hodges said he’s always liked the physicality and the opportunity to knock other guys around. With his size, that comes as no surprise: Hodges is 6-foot-8 and weighs 240 pounds, according to his player profile with the Commanders.

But Mike Fell, the former head coach at Mountain View High School, knew there was something special about Hodges and it wasn’t just his size.

“The reason I knew Curtis was going to Despite not being drafted, former Sun Devil Curtis Hodges made the 53-man roster with the Washington Commanders, where he will be one of five tight ends for the team this

year. (Photo courtesy Washington Commanders)

make it is his grades were poor when I got there, and I was telling him, you have to go the juco (junior college) route,” said Fell, who now coaches at McClintock High School. “And he said, ‘No, I can take two online classes and get them up.’ “He basically had to take, like, five classes in half the year to go for a D1 (Division I) scholarship and he did it,” Fell said.

Hodges was electric at Mountain View. Over the course of his three seasons at the varsity level, he caught 114 passes for 1,446 yards and 15 touchdowns. He also proved himself to be a fierce runblocking tight end, as he helped the Toros go to the postseason in all three of his varsity years.

That got him into ASU, which was attractive to Hodges because it let him stay close to home and develop under thennew coach Herm Edwards, a former NFL coach and player.

“I wanted to stay close to my family. I really liked the program and I still do,” Hodges said. “I had a lot of friends going there. It just seemed like the right idea.” In five seasons at ASU, Hodges “became a better blocker,” said Randy Pagano, head strength coach at Mountain View. “He got more body weight on him.”

In his freshman season, Hodges accumulated 41 yards and a touchdown in nine games. Over the next three years, he totaled 186 yards and another TD in 20 games. But he was allowed a fifth season because of COVID-19, and he took advantage of it, amassing 374 yards and two more touchdowns in 12 appearances.

He also transitioned from wide receiver to tight end, the position he said feels more natural because he has always liked hitting and blocking.

Although he was not drafted, on May 1 he was able to sign a three-year, $2.5 million contract with the Commanders, $125,000 of which is guaranteed, according to spotrac.com, which tracks players contracts.

“I was so excited,” Hodges said. “It was just a dream come true.”

Hodges still had to prove himself in the preseason and push his way through four rounds of training camp cuts to land his spot on the 53-man roster for the start of

seeHODGES page 34

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A champ of a dog Eastmark residents fear city reneging on promised park

BY SCOTT SHUMAKER Tribune Staff Writer Some Eastmark residents fear they are being cheated out of amenities they were promised by a developer and Mesa and their fury boiled over before a subdivision plat vote at the City Council meeting March 7. Ninety-one residents of the master planned community in southeast Mesa submitted comments opposing a subdivision of parcels south of the Apple Data Center on Elliot Road, between Signal Butte and EverChamp the Chihuahua was born without front paws but his owner, Pamela Andersen of Mesa, said the dog has been a joy to her husband Andrew Kuzyk as he struggles with brain cancer. For the story, see page 14. (David Minton/Tribune Photographer) ton Terrace.While their immediate concern was the land just north of their neighborhood, their outrage stemmed in part from a developer’s promise to build 106 acres of park space seeEASTMARK page 8

BY SCOTT SHUMAKER Tribune Staff Writer Streets of luxury housing are planned to replace century-old orange groves and pastures at the end of Val Vista Drive on the south banks of the Salt River in northeast Mesa over the next two to three years. While most of the orange groves will be lost, the four families that own the parcels hope years of planning and vetting potential seePIONEER page 6

developers will lead to a project that does justice to a historic slice of Mesa and opens it up to residents with public trails and trailheads.The landowners in this part of Lehi have partnered with Blandford Homes to create an 85-acre planned area development called Pioneer Crossing, a reference to a historic crossing point on the Salt River close by. Mesa City Council last week approved

an assortment of zoning changes and plan amendments that have cleared the way for the development to proceed. Councilmember Mark Freeman, who represents the district and worked with stakeholders and the landowners as they contemplated the development, said after the council meeting that the families involved Ranching family’s project aims to preserve Mesa history replace century-old orange groves and pastures at the end of Val Vista Drive on the south banks of the Salt River in north east Mesa over the next two to three years. While most of the orange groves will be lost, the four families that own the parcels hope years of planning and vetting potential said the dog has been a joy to her husband Andrew Kuzyk as he struggles with brain cancer. For windows and patio doors. Strong, beautiful, long lasting and durable. Milgard windows and patio doors are designed with stunnin superior performance. Plus, you’ll feel secure in your investment with an industry leading, Full Lifetime Warranty that includes parts and labor. Mon-Thurs 8:30-5pm • Fri 8:30-4pm • Sat 9-2pm • ROC#179513

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amendments that have cleared the way for the development to proceed. Councilmember Mark Freeman, who represents the district and worked with stake An edition of the East Valley Tribune FREE ($1 OUTSIDE THE EAST VALLEY) | TheMesaTribune.com BY SCOTT SHUMAKER Tribune Staff Writer Former Mesa City Council member Scott Somers will be able to remove “former” from his title in January but Vice Mayor Jenn Duff is preparing for a November run-off contest with one of her two challengers. Somers’ 58%-42% lead was sufficient for businesswoman Darla Trendler to concede in the hotly contested southeast Mesa Council District 6 election.But there was no such concession in the downtown District 4 race, where Duff maintained the lead she started with Tuesday night’s release of tallies from early voting but appeared to fall short of the 50%-plus-1 majority she needed to win outright. Duff garnered 48% of the vote over new mother Trista Guzman Glover’s 28% and Arizona State University undergraduate student Nathaniel Ross’ 24%.

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INSIDE If those margins hold by the time all the ballots are counted this week, Ross will be eliminated and Duff and Guzman Glover will face off Nov. 8. "While we’ll be watching the final counts closely, it’s clear that we still have more work ahead of us," Duff said. "Close elections are not a new thing for me and I’m ready to earn every last vote for November’s win.” seeELECTIONS page 8

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BY PAUL MARYNIAK Tribune Executive Editor East Valley municipalities in the last fiscal year took advantage of unanticipated general fund revenue increases to make big additional payments on their debt to pensions earned by thousands of retired police officers and firefighters. But Tempe, Mesa, Gilbert, Chandler and Scottsdale still have a long way to go before they erase their huge unfunded liabilities. Those five municipalities still owe a total $1.4 billion for pensions covering 955 retired firefighters, 1,471 retired cops and hundreds more firefighters and officers who are covered by Arizona’s Public Safety Personnel Retirement System, records show. A jet engine may seem a bit of an unusual sight at a high school, but a plane may soon be on the way at the new American Leadership Academy campus in east Mesa. The sprawling 223,000-square-foot charter school is taking a new approach to vocational education, as you’ll read on page 6. (Enrique Garcia/Tribune Contributor)

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the season.

“It was a special moment for sure,” he said of making the final cut. “I remember my mom calling me and she got all emotional, but you gotta turn around and get back to work the next day.” Despite brief appearances in preseason, Hodges is currently on the Commanders’ injured reserve list nursing a thigh injury, and his status for Sunday’s game is unclear. But he said he has been running and is feeling good, and his focus now is on getting healthy and staying available.

Doing what he always does, in other words. Fell is not surprised.

“He’s just got to stay focused on what he’s got ahead,” Fell said. “He’s going to get an opportunity, he just has to take advantage of it.  Washington Commanders tight end Curtis Hodges rolled up more than 600 yards and four touchdowns during his time as a receiver for Arizona State and now he hopes to succeed

with the Washington Commanders. (Photo courtesy Washington Commanders)

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