Nathan William Hodel (; born November 12, 1977) is an American former professional football player who was a long snapper in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Illinois Fighting Illini and was signed by the Carolina Panthers as an undrafted free agent in 2001. Hodel was also a member of the Arizona Cardinals, New England Patriots and Detroit Lions. He finished his NFL career playing in 133 games. He is fifth in Cardinals history in consecutive games played at 132.
Early life
Hodel attended Belleville East High School in Belleville, Illinois, and was a two-sport star in baseball and football. In football, he was the team captain and an All-Conference pick as an offensive lineman. In baseball, he was a pitcher, the team captain, an All-Conference pitcher, and an all-Illinois prep pitcher.
College career
At the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Hodel was a long snapper on the football team and a pitcher on the baseball team.
Arizona Cardinals
Hodel signed with the Arizona Cardinals shortly after his release by the Panthers and spent the next nine games on their practice squad. He was activated to the Cardinals' 53-man roster for the last two games of the 2001 season but did not enter a game. He handled long snapping duties with the Cardinals from 2002 to 2008.