JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jaguars put the finishing touches on a massive draft class on Saturday afternoon with two selections on offense and one on defense in the seventh and final round.
Jacksonville selected a local product, Baker County High School graduate and Appalachian State guard Cooper Hodges with its first pick of the seventh round. It added North Carolina defensive tackle Raymond Vohasek one pick later and wrapped up its 13-player draft pool with Houston fullback Derek Parish.
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The selection of Hodges is interesting for several reasons.
Fourth round: Jaguars focus on defense with LB, edge
Fifth round: Safety Antonio Johnson a big get late
Sixth round: Jaguars use two more picks on defensive players, also add WR
He plays a position that needs some depth. Hodges has good size (6-4, 305 pounds) and started 51 career games at App State. In high school, Hodges helped the Wildcats power their way to a 13-2 finish and a Class 5A state championship game appearance under coach Jamie Rodgers in 2017. Baker County lost that game to Plantation American Heritage (44-15), but the season was the best in program history.
Hodges is just the fifth player who graduated from a local high school to be drafted by the hometown Jaguars. He joins Rashean Mathis (Englewood), Dee Webb (White), Larry Smith (Charlton County) and Shaquille Quarterman (Oakleaf). Hodges is the second Baker County grad to be drafted.
Vohasek (6-3, 310 pounds) is a four-year player from the Tar Heels who had 17 career tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks.
Parish is an interesting selection. He played linebacker and fullback with Houston, amassing 32.5 career tackles for loss and 16 sacks across five seasons. But he’s going into the NFL as a fullback, a position Jacksonville hasn’t employed on a regular basis.