Family proud of Cody

Richard Hoffman, his wife Cindy and their son Jayson pose in front of a BYU sign in front of their home on Tuesday. Del Norte Triplicate/Bryant Anderson

He gave it to his parents last Christmas.

“What an amazing gift we got,” a proud Richard Hoffman said this week as he and his wife, Cindy, looked at the photo at their home in Crescent City.

Cody Hoffman, 20, has received accolades for years, starting as a standout youth football player and at Del Norte High all the way to becoming a starter at wideout at BYU.

He said he has been supported every step of the way by his close-knit family’s love, guidance and confidence to succeed on a national stage.

Hoffman and the Cougars play Saturday at Oregon State –– only a five-hour drive from Crescent City.

A caravan of at least 200 local fans, including the Hoffman family, are making the trek to root for Cody and the Cougars.

“I think he’s really excited about this weekend,” Richard Hoffman said. “It’s nice so many people are coming to see him play.”

“It means a lot to us,” Cindy Hoffman said. “It’s great that so many people from here support him.”

With the game only a few days away, the Hoffmans sat down to talk about their son and the journey he has made from Crescent City to Provo, Utah.

Many might not be aware that Cody Hoffman did not take up football until he was 11. He had played baseball since he was about 5.

He showed a lot of potential in baseball, his parents said. But he never had an overwhelming passion for it.

“He just loved football,” Richard Hoffman said. “I think when he was younger, baseball was too slow for him.”

Richard said that from an early age Cody was an exceptional athlete. As a child of 3 or 4, he loved to go outside and hit with a little plastic bat and ball.

“I remember him hitting the heck out of the ball,” Cindy Hoffman said.

Richard Hoffman has always been a huge baseball fan and played the sport in high school at Del Norte.

While liking football, Richard admits that baseball was his sport of choice and said it was neat to see Cody flash potential in baseball.

But from early on,  Cody  loved football and wanted to play. In Del Norte, kids can play youth football starting at age 8, but Cindy did not want Cody to take part.

“I just didn’t want him to get hurt,” she said.

After hearing a lot of “please, Mom, I want to do that,” Cindy said she and her husband decided to let Cody play. He took the field for the first time as an 11-year old on the Del Norte Youth Football AA team.

In his first year he was the quarterback, but it wasn’t his favorite position.

“He didn’t like it,” Richard Hoffman said. “You know why? He didn’t like giving the ball up. He wanted the ball in his hands.”

The next year he played wide receiver and flourished.

“He had very good hands,” Richard Hoffman said. “He would go up and get it.” 

By the time he reached high school he already had  exceptional speed and size, and as only a sophomore was already a varsity starter.

Sadly, one of his biggest fans from his Del Norte playing days will not be at the game Saturday.

Cody’s grandmother, Kathryn Westbrook, who came to all his games as a kid and in high school, died of brain cancer in August.

Last summer, Cody spent about a month back in Crescent City. A major reason was to be with his grandmother. Near the end, when she barely recognized anyone, she still recognized Cody, his parents said.

One of his biggest fans who will be in attendance on Saturday is his brother Jayson, a senior at Del Norte High School.

“I know it’s a big deal but I still see him as my brother,” Jayson said. “I’m just really proud of him. ... He’s a good brother.”

Jayson hopes to attend Provo College next year in the same city as BYU, and perhaps room with Cody.

Cindy said Cody is a pretty mellow guy who does not seek attention. He’s still getting used to being recognized for his play on the gridiron.

Recently, Cindy and Richard Hoffman went to Provo to see Cody and the Cougars defeat Utah State. Their son had a crucial 24-yard touchdown grab.

During dinner she overheard a group of excited girls saying,  “Oh, there’s Cody Hoffman.”

His mother thought it was pretty neat, but said he was nonchalant.

“He’s pretty grounded,” she said. “I think we get more excited than I think he ever will.”