Q&A: Ziggy Hood, DT, Missouri

Defensive Tackle Evander "Ziggy" Hood interviewed on the All Access Radio's Football Friday Show with Ralph Mancini, Daniel Mogollon and Rodney Towe in our Defensive Linemen Special on March 27, 2009

Where did the name Ziggy come from?

Hood: To put a long story short, I’m half Black and half Hispanic and my grandmother on my mother's side couldn’t say “Evander Hood”, which is my real name. So she gave me a nickname, one from her favorite cartoon character, Ziggy, from the newspaper back in the old days.

That’s amazing because that’s what I think of when I hear your name, Ziggy, and you’re actually named after the cartoon. Alright, on to more serious business. As you have dealt with the whole draft and Combine process I imagine you are going through workouts. How grueling of a process is it? Tell us what you have gone through the last couple months.

Hood: Well the workouts have been pretty tough, I ain’t going to lie to you. The coaches I’ve had want to see what’s expected of you. They will push you to the point where you're either going to fall out or keep standing and I guess they are looking for guys who are going to remain on their two feet and keep pushing, no matter how bad it gets. So at this point I’m pushing my body to the maximum every day. Trying to stay in shape and there really is no such thing as being in shape, but I just try to stay good enough to where if it does come to the worst, then I will remain standing.

As far as private workouts. Have you done any or do you have any scheduled in the upcoming weeks?

Hood: I already had one for the Broncos with (Defensive Line) Coach (Wayne) Nunnely. I've got one coming up this Monday with the Atlanta Falcons. As far as anything else, I haven’t really heard anything, you know. But I do have the Atlanta Falcons coming up, I know that for sure.

Walk us through the chalk talk that went on between you and other NFL teams in your interviews and your conversations. Were you asked to read offenses? Did they ask you to breakdown down offenses? What exactly did they ask you to get a feeling as to what your knowledge of football was?

Hood: I think their main focus was to see how much detail you put into studying your position as well as knowing about other positions, not only on the line but also linebackers and secondary. To see if you know how to make adjustments or how quick you are on your feet. They'll draw a play on the board and erase it and talk to you for a few minutes, then they put you on a white board again and tell you to draw up that same play. Basically, they ask to teach them what they have told me but they act like somebody who just wants to learn. So basically you are just trying to give them a presentation of what you are trying to show.

Also in past interviews you describe the importance of making yourself smaller when you go up against offensive linemen. Can you describe what exactly you mean by that, “making yourself smaller”, against offensive linemen?

Hood: I mean that normally, guys that are 6’4 or 6’5 tend to play high. But if you are like one of those guys like Dwight Freeney that plays real low to the ground, you stand a better chance of going against guys that are 6’8 or 6’5...you stand a better chance of getting better leverage in your hips. And you roll your hips for better for coming off and plugging the holes and stuff. But, I mean, when you play smaller and skinnier you have a better chance of making plays and not getting in as much trouble.

You have been labeled by many as a jack of all trades. What do you think is the most overlooked part of your game?

Hood: I really don’t know. At this point I’ve had people that told me I have been a jack of all trades, I really don’t know what that means. I guess I try to do anything. Try to get to the quarterback, which I understand. Maybe one thing won’t work or something else may work. I try to do different things, try to change up my scheme, try to make myself better in order to force a bad play or, you know, make a play on the quarterback or make a great play in the backfield. Really, though, I have no idea what to think about that.

You were training with a lot of Big 12 guys like Graham Harrell, Juaquin Iglesias out of OU, and maybe some other guys from Oklahoma. What’s it like working out with guys that were your competitors? Was there a lot of trash talking amongst you guys?

Hood: Really, no trash talking. I mean, cause we're all out there for the same purpose and there’s no hate, no trash talking. Everybody is out there focusing on one main point and trying to make it in this process. Really, it's just a great example of everybody pushing each other no matter what team he came from, no matter if you got beat down a lot or you put a lot of points up on each other. Really, it's just a opportunity for everybody to go out there and show what you got and prove a lot of guys wrong.

Now would that be the case if there was a Kansas Jayhawk in the group, too?

Hood: It would be a different story about that. There’s just some bad blood between us and Kansas. (Laughs)

You couldn’t have that, right?

Hood: Nah, not at all.

I was texting with Chase Coffman last night during the basketball game and he was excited with the win and couldn’t wait to root against Kansas the next night. You know?

Hood: Oh yeah. (Laughs)

Let me ask you, one of the things that you do well, that you showed off a lot at the Senior Bowl, not only in the game but throughout the week of practice, was that spin move of yours. When did you start developing that?

Hood: As far as the season went, I got hold of a Colts tape and that’s when they were like 12-0 or 13-0 at the time, correct me if I’m wrong. I started noticing Rahim Brock, Dwight Freeney, and Rashead Mathis and stuff just doing a whole lot of spin moves and it was working. So I tried it out at practice one day. I felt like the spin move may work for me since I’m not a big wide guy, I thought I could slide through. In games I gained a lot of success from it, so I implemented it and used it. In the Senior Bowl it was a big part of my pass rushing. It worked a couple of times but once they got a hang of it, I had to slow it down and go back to doing what I do and use my quickness and stuff.

Remember the first guy you got to in the season using that spin move?

Hood: I think it was against either Illinois or against Buffalo. One of those teams where I did it. I got a sack, I think it was against Buffalo, and I got that first sack on the first drive that they had. So I think that’s when I realized it was going to be a key part to what I do.

You mention you are half Black, half Latino. I’m half Latino myself. There’s not a lot of Latin brothers playing on the gridiron, we mostly see that on the baseball diamond not playing football. How many other Latino players are out there? Iglesais sounds like a Latino name. Do you guys ever talk about that, how it’s a rarity?

Hood: He probably don’t know that I was that. Because if you look at me, I don’t look mixed or anything. I look like I’m just Black. I just got that half and half. But I sure do have that mustache of my granddad, I can tell you that. (Laughs) Other than that, it’s really something we just didn’t talk about. Probably 'cause he really don’t know. I mean we really didn’t talk to much because he’s a receiver and I’m d-lineman plus he’s from OU and I played for MU. So there’s always that feud that went around and stuff so...

You've got to get that pride out there. Got to let them know it’s not just Mark Sanchez there at USC.

Hood: If they catch me in a Spanish restaurant eating or doing the Cha Cha then I might have to throw it out there.

I was going to ask if you do the Cha Cha. Does that help your spin move?

Hood: (Laughs) No, I did it one time and hurt my hip and never did it again.

(Laughs) So no Dancing With the Stars then?

Hood: No. No dancing at all. I’ll leave that up to Warren Sapp.

No Salsa lessons?

Hood: I think I’ll start sweating too much if I start doing that.

So let me ask you one more before we leave this topic. When you go into that Mexican Restaurant, what are you ordering?

Hood: Ahh man for some it’s steak fajitas. If I was deserted on a island I would eat steak fajitas and drink Kool-Aid all day. That would be my meal I’d take for the rest of my life.

Ziggy, getting back on the field here—give us your impression of your final season at Missouri. A lot of great things were expected and the team kind of faded down the stretch. What are some of the things you could have done better, when looking back on it?

Hood: Well as for me being the captain, being a little bit more vocally involved in what we were doing. I mean, I was in there with the young guys, the freshmen and the d-line, you know getting them more involved. Teaching them how to study tape, teaching them how to study opponents. Not only critiquing yourself, but helping others and critiquing them. Cause when you have 11 guys running towards the ball, that’s a force you can’t stop. So I wish I would have spent a little bit more time with the secondary and the linebackers and put more dedication into that instead of my d-linemen. That’s something I look back on and just say I wish I would of did. But it happened. But now my younger guys know about that, so they can implement it to the younger guys and we should have a better season next year.

Let me ask you about a guy that’s coming back to Missouri, and that’s the linebacker Sean Witherspoon. How much of a impact player is he and were you kind of surprised he decided to come back to school?

Hood: I’m not surprised at all. I mean, he’s about his grades and getting his education. I have spoken to his mom and his father. He’s got his mind correct. I mean this guy is really something and who ever gets him, I feel sorry for the next team because this guy is a beast out there. He’s an animal, I loved playing behind the guy. I wish I had one more year because he’s on the team. He’s the type of guy I want to be around all the time. He just shows that emotion, that care. He's got that fire and energy, not only on the field but off the field as well and in the classroom.

Yeah. He’s definitely a player and I bet he's thinking somewhere, “I wish I had one more year with Ziggy in front of me”.

Hood: I hope so, I hope so.

There always the NFL next year.

Hood: He’ll get there, he’ll get there. He keeps doing the things right.

Before we let you go Ziggy, we call this segment three and out. Alright?

Hood: Okay

You ready?

Hood: I’ve been ready.

(Laughs) First down: What is your favorite sport to watch on TV?

Hood: Right now I’m starting to lean over to hockey.

You don’t see too many Latinos playing hockey...even less than football.

Hood: For some reason, I saw this fight and I got hyped and just started yelling for them.

(Laughs) Alright, Ziggy. Second down: Since you were named after a cartoon character, what was your favorite cartoon growing up or, if you still watch cartoons now, what’s your favorite cartoon?

Hood: I don’t know if you guys remember "Rocko's Modern Life". It was back when Nickelodeon was Nickelodeon, that’s when they had "Ed, Edd n Eddy", they had "The Ren and Stimpy Show". But Rocko’s Modern Life was the front runner.

We're big Ren and Stimpy fans.

Hood: Those are instant classics right there.

Before we let you go. This is third down. I know from reading the previous interview that you are a big southern rap guy. But I’m going to make you pick east coast or west coast. Are you a Biggie or Tupac guy?

Hood: I have to be a Biggie guy. For some reason it’s something I’ll just be vibin' to. I mean, it’s kind of hard right now because Tupac's got some songs that make you want to sit back and listen to. But Biggie's songs that I like to vibe to, he keeps me going and keeps me motivated and stuff.

You've got three New Yorkers here and we are all nodding our heads...

Hood: Alright. (Laughs)

Photo Credit: Mizzou Media Relations, College Press Box