Caleb Hood Working On Position Change, Prepping For UNC
Caleb Hood committed to play football at North Carolina last January, and since then he’s been working on building his body so it can handle the rigors of playing at the college level while also weighing his options about playing his senior season at Richmond County High School.
Hood, a 3-star class of 2021 dual-threat quarterback from Rockingham, NC, is also the son of former Tar Heel Errol Hood, who played in the secondary two decades ago at UNC.
THI caught up with Caleb to see how things are going as he competes in various 7-on-7 events and prepares for when he heads to Chapel Hill. Here is the full video interview with Hood followed by the full transcript of what he had to say:
Q: It’s really weird that we would be heading into week six of the high school football season right, is it a weird feeling you’re seeing college football and you’re not?
HOOD: “It’s really weird because we’d normally be playing football right now. It’s really weird and it sucks not being able to play right now.”
Q: What have you been doing to get and stay in shape during the offseason and this fall?
HOOD: “I’ve been working out on my own and I’ve played on two 7-on-7 teams, one at different positions and one I play quarterback. And we have some workouts and conditioning going on at my high school right now. So, I’ve been keeping myself busy.”
Q: You play quarterback at Richmond County, what are the plans for you at UNC?
HOOD: “I’m starting off in the running backs room. They put me at running back right now, so I’m just going to go from there.”
Q: What have you been doing to improve your running back skills?
HOOD: “I’ve gained 20 pounds. I was 205 and now I weigh around 225-230. I’ve gained 20 pounds over the past year as I’ve been playing football. It’s not really anything much different running the ball-wise, but just catching the ball. So I’m playing 7-on-7 as a running back trying to catch balls live against other teams so I can get in the flow of competing at a different position.”
Q: Has the coaching staff at UNC been in contact with you about what they want you to work on?
HOOD: “Coach (Robert) Gillespie just told me to make sure my hands are good, that I’m going to be a big part of the offense being a running back. Other than that, he told me to keep working.”
Q: You were the second commitment for UNC way back in January, you were instrumental in getting this highly touted class together, so what’s your opinion on what Coach Brown and the staff have done bringing in this great class?
HOOD: “Everybody wants to play for Coach Brown. It’s a great atmosphere up there and it’s just a great place to be. And right now, it’s the best place to be and everybody wants to play for him and we all want to play together. We’re real close, have a group chat and we talk every day. I think we’re going to be pretty good.”
Q: Your dad, Errol Hood, played at Carolina. I bet he was the happiest guy when you committed to UNC. He’s been very involved in your playing, so what’s it like to have a dad that played at Carolina?
HOOD: “It’s awesome. Growing up and going to all the games and dressing up in Carolina blue every Saturday, watching the games on TV, going to the games, and now I get to play. It’s crazy, it’s my dream.”
Q: Did you watch the Syracuse game last week?
HOOD: “Yes, mam. It was weird seeing it with no fans but it was good. (Inaudible).”
Q: If things were normal, you and the other recruits would be in the stadium enjoying the game, how difficult is it not being there?
HOOD: “It’s weird. I went to all the home games last year, so it’s definitely kind of upsetting not being able to go to the games. Hopefully, we’ll get to go back soon.”
Q: Going back to you being in the running backs room, what do you think about the duo UNC has in Javonte Williams and Michael Carter?
HOOD: “They’re great running backs. Clearly, you can see they can compete with anybody in the country. They run the ball really good. Michael Carter is really fast, he’s kind of like the speed back. And then Javonte Williams just runs everybody over, so they’ve got a good combo there. They’ve got a really good running backs room and I like to see what Coach Gillespie has going on in there. It should be fun.”
Q: Last question, with the pandemic, are you going to play spring ball for Richmond or are you going to early enroll.
HOOD: “I haven’t decided yet. That’s something for me and my family to talk about, and hopefully we will keep praying about it, and hopefully I will make the best decision for me and my family.”