Chanley Hodges is an 8th grader at Southlake Carroll, class of 2031, and he’s already logged eight years in the game. His start came through Indoor Flag, where the seeds of what now drives him were planted early: competition. That’s the word that comes up first when Chanley talks about why he plays. He’ll tell you flatly that football is the greatest team sport ever invented, and everything about how he trains and carries himself backs that up.
Chanley has built his football education through some of the top platforms in the country, including Football Hotbed, FBU, Quarterback Magazine, and Quarterback Universe. He trains under Jeff Christensen of Throw It Deep, sharpening the mechanics and decision-making that separate quarterbacks who can simply throw the ball from quarterbacks who can play the position at a high level.
Ask Chanley what he values most and the answer doesn’t change: toughness and work ethic. He wants to be the hardest worker on his team, every day, no exceptions. It’s a mentality he pairs with genuine admiration for playmakers, and he points to Johnny Manziel as the player whose game he studies most, drawn to that same knack for creating something out of nothing when the play breaks down.
Off the field, Chanley has been dialing in the habits that support performance at a high level, especially eating properly and getting enough sleep, the kind of discipline that often separates good players from great ones long before game day arrives. Coach DJ Box has played a significant role in that development. Chanley describes the connection as instant, saying the two clicked from day one, and Box has become someone Chanley considers a great dude both in football and beyond it.
Chanley’s goal is clear: continue growing at the quarterback position and earn High School All-American honors before his career is through.
He’s already delivered the kind of moment that goal is built on. With his team down late, Chanley uncorked a 45-yard touchdown pass to tie the game. Then he came up with the play that flipped the momentum entirely, recovering an onside kick to give his offense the ball right back. On the very first snap after the recovery, Chanley took off and ran 55 yards for the go-ahead touchdown with a minute left on the clock, single-handedly bringing his team back from the brink and sealing the win.
That combination — arm talent, instincts, and the refusal to let a moment get too big — is exactly why Chanley Hodges is a name to watch as he continues to climb toward his goal of playing quarterback at the highest levels of high school football.
