'I'm a complete corner': Why Colton Hood thinks he's best CB in NFL draft | Exclusive

Yahoo Sports1h ago10 min readOriginal source →

TL;DR

Tennessee cornerback Colton Hood aims to make a memorable NFL draft debut on his mother's birthday. He attributes his football passion to family influences, including his uncle, an NFL veteran.

Key points

Colton Hood is a cornerback prospect from Tennessee.
The NFL draft coincides with his mother's birthday.
Colton grew up with seven siblings.
His uncle, Roderick Hood, is a former NFL player.
Colton's long-term goal has been to make it to the NFL since age six.

Mentioned in this story

Colton HoodCrystal HoodBengie HoodBrandon HoodRoderick HoodTennessee

NFL draft prospect and Tennessee cornerback Colton Hood is on the verge of giving his mother, Crystal, a memorable gift.

“The draft is on her birthday,” Colton said to USA TODAY Sports. “I think that would be like a really good birthday present for her.”

Family is very important to Colton, who grew up with seven siblings. His father, Bengie, used to make Colton and his siblings write down goals. Colton’s long-term goal was to make it to the NFL.

“Six,” Colton reminisced about the age he decided he wanted to play in the NFL. “As soon as I starting playing.”

Football is in Colton’s DNA. His brother, Brandon, played running back at Colorado in 2024 before transferring to Massachusetts. Colton’s uncle, Roderick Hood, was a defensive back in the NFL for eight seasons and has become Colton’s personal defensive back coach.

“I definitely look up to him. I actually talked to him like almost every day. He's my personal coach. I definitely looked up to him. He's taught me everything I pretty much know about DB in itself,” Colton said of Roderick. “You know, my technique and everything the way I play. The mentality I play with comes from him and my dad. He's definitely been a big help and a big part of my career so far.”

Colton started his college career at Auburn before transferring to Colorado. He then played his final collegiate season at Tennessee. Colton said he gained knowledge at each of his three stops. At Colorado, Colton was coached by the person many consider the best cornerback ever, Deion Sanders.

“The biggest thing he taught me was just about film study. Learning how to study film. How much better you can be as a player if you study film really good and really well,” Colton said of what he learned from Sanders.