Former Steelers DE Ziggy Hood helps prevent tragic incident at school

Former Pittsburgh Steeler and NFL defensive end Ziggy Hood helped prevent a tragic situation at a Texas high school. Per a report from KAMR/KCIT, Hood’s actions may have stopped a possible school shooting.

Hood, a biology teacher and football coach at Palo Duro High School, noticed one of his students was struggling. That’s when he had a conversation with the individual.

“After talking with him for a little bit, trying to explain to him, there’s multiple ways of doing about going about this,” Hood said. “And one way was not the way which he had planned.”

A weapon was located on the school’s campus and the individual was arrested.

Minimal details were released regarding the situation. However, Hood did credit the local police department’s liaisons for keeping the school safe.

“Officers Matthews and Pedraza did a wonderful job that day, they protected everybody. I’m just glad that he didn’t get hurt, somebody else didn’t get hurt, or multiple people, you know, didn’t get hurt,” he said.

Many regard NFL players as heroes for what they do on the field. But it’s Hood’s actions off the field and in his post-playing career that made him a true hero and prevented a serious tragedy from unfolding.

Ziggy Hood played 10 seasons in the NFL

Hood has found a new passion in his post-NFL life, coaching football and teaching high school biology. But before that, he spent 10 seasons in the league.

The former Missouri star started his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he played from 2009-13. After that, he had stops with the Jacksonville Jaguars (2014-15), Chicago Bears (2015), Washington (2016-18) and Miami Dolphins (2018).

Over that span, Hood appeared in 142 career games in the NFL. He accounted for 231 total tackles, 14 sacks and five fumble recoveries. Most of his success came during his five seasons with the Steelers.

Hood accounted for 140 stops and 11.5 sacks during his five seasons in Pittsburgh. He also made two playoff appearances with the team, totaling 14 tackles and two sacks in the 2010 and 2011 postseason trips.

The defensive lineman was taken in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft with the No. 32 overall pick. That came after an excellent career at Mizzou. With the Tigers, Hood piled up 155 total tackles with 14.5 sacks. He also had eight passes defended and five forced fumbles.