The South Dakota Coyotes welcomed a pair of linebacker coaches into their football program this spring who will bring an intriguing collection of qualifications along with them.
 
Combine C.J. Robbins' and Elijah Hodges' resumes with 10 minutes of conversation with each and you conclude it's very likely both will have a significant impact on the Coyotes' defense. 
 
Robbins was a three-year starter and 2016 team captain for the Northwestern Wildcats, twice earning all-academic All-Big Ten honors. He has since had coaching stops at Miami of Ohio (2019) and Minnesota (2020-2021) prior to moving on to USD to focus on working with outside linebackers for defensive coordinator Travis Johansen.
 
Hodge is the younger brother of Abdul Hodge, the former Iowa Hawkeye standout who recently left the Coyotes to take a job as tight ends coach at his alma mater. 
 
Elijah Hodge played football at Wisconsin, where he graduated with all-academic All-Big Ten honors. He played an additional season at Northern Iowa and has since taken a non-traditional route to where he is now. 
 
Most recently he founded Linebacker Performance, a company that provides high school and college linebackers technical training and comprehensive linebacker education. He did this while also working in the Sarasota (Fla.) County School District. 
 
Both Robbins and Hodge can point to a commitment to academics going back to their own days as student-athletes. Their personal histories since then continue to bear that out.
 
Now they're colleagues with the Coyotes, who conclude their spring practices with a Coyotes vs. Coyotes game at the DakotaDome Saturday 
 
"I'm excited to have C.J. and Elijah on our staff," said head coach Bob Nielson. "They will be tremendous role models for our players and bring a high level of expertise to our defensive staff and our program."
 
Robbins and Hodge share that enthusiasm for their assignments as part of the Coyote coaching staff. 
 
"My first meeting with the defensive staff I got to see how everybody was on the same page," said Robbins, who was a defensive graduate assistant for P.J. Fleck on the Minnesota Gopher staff. "I realized right away how supportive they all are of each other. They have something special going on here. We are getting the pieces together to do what we need to do. It was great to see how they click with each other outside of football. It's definitely a family atmosphere."
 
For Hodge, his familiarity with the Coyotes included actual family and began with his conversations with his brother, Abdul, who had been a coach on Nielson's staff for the last three years prior to returning to Iowa. 
 
The younger Hodge stayed close to football while working in education. He was the first-ever football coach at Roxbury Prep Charter, a high school in the Boston area, and quickly led the team to the playoffs in back-to-back seasons while also serving as the school's dean of students. 
 
A decision to start his own company – a company centered around football – was an indication the sport was still taking up a lot of real estate in his heart and mind. 
 
Conversations with Abdul, who is two years older, would often revolve around the sport. 
 
"I didn't know all those casual conversations I had about football with my brother were going to lead to anything," Hodge said. "Then he called me and told me he was going to Iowa. I joked with him about taking over his spot at USD. A few weeks later, that turned into a serious conversation."
 
Hodge talked with his wife about what amounted to a career change as much as a job change. With her support, he ultimately indicated to USD he was interested, then went through with formal interviews.  
 
"The interview process allowed me to learn about the position that USD had open," Hodge said. "That was a lot better way to get the job compared to getting it because of my association with Abdul. I had to show them my knowledge and how I look at the game. It was affirming and assuring that I earned the position regardless of the fact that my brother used to coach here."
 
Robbins' introduction to the Coyote program included an affirming tour of the USD facilities. As someone who played at one Big Ten school and coached at another, he had plenty of insight into what goes into supporting successful programs. 
 
"These are phenomenal facilities at USD," he said. "That was the first step for me. The second step is realizing the level of commitment from the community and alumni to be able to get everything to the level it's at here. The third step for me was listening to them tell me about the business school, the med school and the law school. That's three major things you need. I knew this was something I wanted to be a part of."
 
Robbins' players will hear what they need to know about becoming better on the field but the new coach's messaging will go well beyond those boundaries.
 
"I try to encourage people to get outside the bubble of athletics," Robbins said. "You don't need to have exclusively student-athlete friends. You don't have to go into 'athlete jobs' when you're done playing. Go out and find what you're passionate about and chase those passions." 
 
It's advice to heed as a player, but also as a coach. Just ask Hodge, who left an established career to seek out a return to practices, recruiting and those fall Saturdays. 
 
"I love the life lessons that football teaches to young men," Hodge said. "When this opportunity presented itself, it was a no-brainer for me. I was going to get the opportunity to have a career in coaching a sport I love. This allows me to never work another day in my life."