A first-round selection in the NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. A Super Bowl appearance. Nearly a decade-long NFL career. That’s the life Ziggy Hood has lived, one that only a few people ever get the chance to experience. Yet despite all of those accomplishments, Hood recently opened up about something many people can relate to.

Earlier this summer, Hood sat down with Martin O’Donnell of Bolavip for an exhaustive look back at his career.

“You know what, coming from a small town here in Amarillo, Texas, not too many guys have, you know, transcended to the next level from college. It has only been a select few. And having that opportunity to even make it to the league was a blessing in itself.” Hood said in the exclusive interview. “With the draft, it was up and down with different picks that they were telling me, so when the teams pass you up, you think you’re going to drop.

“(It was) Just a surprise, you know, the Steelers with the 32nd pick chose me. I felt like I wasn’t worthy, but hey, thank God I got the blessing, and it was a history wrap from there.”

When Hood was drafted by Mike Tomlin in 2009, the head coach had already established himself as one of the game’s brightest coaches, having won Super Bowl XLIII in just his second season on the job. For Tomlin, selecting Hood in the first round after winning the Super Bowl was not only a massive honor for the player but also a distinction that came with great expectations.

But Hood was no slouch either. In his four-year collegiate career at the University of Missouri, he accumulated 170 tackles, 15.5 sacks, 22.5 tackles for loss, and 22 quarterback pressures. In his last season playing for Missouri, he was named to First-Team All-Big 12.

The transition from college to the NFL threw additional challenges at Hood on top of playing for the Steelers and Tomlin. Hood had to transition from playing in a 4-3 defense in college to a 3-4 defense under legendary defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau.

“Really, you had to rewire yourself on how you need to do certain things,” Hood explained. “Luckily, I had a group of older vets to teach me and to learn from them. I had the blessing, I had the opportunity to learn from these older guys and to see how it’s done when it’s done correctly.”

That willingness to learn and adapt paid off for the 39-year-old. Firstly, he proved himself to be somewhat of an Iron Man and never missed a game for the Steelers in his five seasons there. In that span, he put up 140 tackles, 11.5 sacks, and 3 passes defended in 80 regular-season games. In what was a career highlight, he helped the Steelers reach Super Bowl XLV in his second year.

Following his departure from the Steelers in 2013, Hood played in the league for five more seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Chicago Bears, Washington, and the Miami Dolphins.

But for Hood, his football career was only part of his life story; there was so much more to the man.

For Ziggy Hood, his world revolved around one person

Hood’s greatest challenge, and greatest accomplishment, actually came away from the football field: his son, Josiah. Early in his NFL career, Hood and his wife, Sara, learned that Josiah had autism. Navigating that journey with Sara and Josiah with grace, patience, and love has become Hood’s defining accomplishment in life.

“When you’re 22 or 23, and you have your first kid, you have all these dreams and expectations,” Hood said during training camp. “And then, boom, you get hit with this curveball. I wasn’t prepared for it. I didn’t know how to deal with stuff like that, and it took me some time. When I’d go to work, I’d think, ‘Damn, what did I do wrong for this to happen? Was this God’s intent for this to happen to me?’ A lot of questions, a lot of whys.”

Hood told ESPN that it took him quite a while to process the diagnosis, but once he did, he was a changed man.

“When I finally accepted it, I was like, ‘What do I have to do to make sure everyone’s comfortable?’” Hood said. “That’s when I started getting involved and becoming more familiar with it, and instead of letting it hold me back, I was able to push through it and let it be the fuel for what I need to do to make it work.”

According to ESPN, Hood even told his agent, Andy Ross, that post his departure from Pittsburgh, he had to research the medical facilities in potential cities that he could sign with so Josiah could get the best care. According to Ross, that was apparently more important to Hood than his contract.

But as fate would have it, March 10, 2025, was the day that changed Ziggy Hood’s life forever. Josiah passed away that day at the age of 14.

Now, post his playing career, Hood has come back home to Texas, where he’s a biology teacher and a football coach for his alma mater, Palo Duro High School, in his hometown of Amarillo.

From his incredible journey from his standout college career to a long career in the NFL, Ziggy has not only made Tomlin proud, but he has also proved that he was more than worthy of everything he did in life.