Keith Hodnett (SP, 1985-88)

Hodnett set the career scoring record with 199 points (now second), including 68 (now eighth) for the 1988 Southland Conference champions. He set a school record that still stands with a 53-yard FG in the playoffs at Idaho and holds the mark for most career field goals (37), including three of 50 or more. He was included on the Top 100 Demon Players of All-Time list selected for the Centennial Celebration this year.

Bill Johnson (C, 1975-78)

A four-year letterwinner and two-year starter as a center for the Demons, Johnson was named one of 13 honorary captains for the Top 100 Demon Players of All-Time roster chosen for the NSU football centennial.  He served as a student and graduate assistant coach, then moved into a fulltime post as a Demon assistant coach in 1982-84. That launched an ongoing 27-year coaching career, including the last seven in the NFL with Atlanta (2000-06) and currently with Denver. Johnson was on the 1987 Miami Hurricanes coaching staff for a national championship team  and also coached at Texas A&M and Arkansas, along with McNeese and Louisiana Tech. He has coached two Pro Bowl players in the NFL.

Kevin Lewis (DB, 1985-88)

Just 5-foot-7 and not 150 pounds, the New Orleans native had to persuade Demon coaches to allow him to walk on as a cornerback. He went on to the NFL. An All-America cornerback with 13 pass breakups for the 1988 Southland Conference champs, Lewis had grown a bit before he played for Phoenix in 1989 and San Francisco from 1990-92. He was included on the Top 100 Demon Players of All-Time list selected for the Centennial Celebration this year.

Ted Simon (E/C, 1952-55)

A stalwart lineman on a Gulf States Conference championship team in 1953, Simon was a standout in both football and track, earning four letters in both sports. He started at defensive end his freshman, sophomore and junior year.  He earned All Gulf States Conference at center his junior and senior year.  He threw the shot and discus for four straight (1953-56) Gulf States Conference track and field championship teams. After college Ted served in the U.S. Army before teaching and coaching at Kaplan High School from  1958-1968.  He served as principal of Kaplan High School  for six years prior to going into private business.  Friends of Ted regarded him as a “Man among men, who made a difference in many ways that were not recorded and a good friend to many”

 

Jeff Hennessy (1957-59)

 In 1957, Hennessy returned to Northwestern where he had earned a bachelor’s and a master’s degree and taught physical education while coaching swimming, diving, and gymnastics until 1959.  Under his tutelage, the Demons took home three straight Mid-South Intercollegiate championships as well as both the Southern and Southwestern AAU championships in 1958.  Hennessy has been inducted into the U.S. Gymnastics Hall of Fame based on his work at USL and the U.S. gymnastics program.

Fred Martinez (1965-67)

Martinez led a revival of Northwestern’s gymnastics program, winning the National Clinic championship and the Mid-South Intercollegiate championship.  In 1966, Martinez led the Demons to a new level, winning the National Clinic championship, NAIA championship, an AAU Championships runner-up, and Northwestern’s first athletic national championship with the NAIA title.  The following year, the Demons claimed the National Clinic, AAU, Mid-South, and NAIA championships.

Armando Vega (1968-72)

A former NCAA national champion for Penn State, Armando Vega took over the Northwestern gymnastics program in 1968 and guided the Demons to defense of their Mid-South and NAIA championships.  In his second season, Vega coached the first athlete to ever win both the NAIA and NCAA Division II individual national championships as John Ellas earned his place in Demon lore.  Northwestern would win its fourth consecutive NAIA championship that season.  In 1970, Vega guided Northwestern to its first NCAA team championship as the Demons won both the NAIA and NCAA D-II team national championships.  The Demons also posted the all-around individual championship as Paul Tickenoff took the title.  For his effort, Vega was named the NCAA Coach of the Year in 1970.  In 1971, the Demons took their sixth consecutive, and fourth under Vega, NAIA championship and won each of the five meets in which they competed.  In his final season, Vega led the undermanned Demons to a runner-up finish in the NAIA championships before taking over the LSU program.  Vega is an inductee to the U.S. Gymnastics Hall of Fame for his athletic and coaching career.