DATE: Monday, August 25, 1997               TAG: 9708250170

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C5   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: ACC FOOTBALL TOUR: DUKE 

SOURCE: BY FRANK VEHORN, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: DURHAM, N.C.                      LENGTH:   56 lines

BLUE DEVILS AREN'T MUCH BUT THEY ARE JUST THE CURE FOR ONE PLAYER

Football hasn't been much fun recently at Duke, which became the first team in ACC history last year to lose all 11 games.

``But it is a great place to be if you are sick. That's what I tell recruits,'' says Jeff Hodrick, a senior tight end from Shamokin, Pa.

Hodrick arrived in Durham, called the ``City of Medicine,'' in 1993, planning to develop his football skills and begin studying for career in medicine.

He has done both, but in a scary, round-about way.

During his freshman year, Hodrick came down with a mysterious physical disorder in the form of cramps that deteriorated his muscles.

It went away but reappeared during the spring of his second season.

That led to what Hodrick calls a ``journey of investigation,'' in which he met some of the leading doctors in the nation.

``Meeting those people, who were so concerned about me, reinforced my desire to study medicine,'' he says.

Hodrick was diagnosed with rhabeomyolysis, a disorder in which muscle tissue is ripped from the body and discharged.

``Some people have blood in the urine. I had muscle in my urine,'' Hodrick recalls.

One doctor told him his football career was over.

He asked for a second opinion from doctors at Johns Hopkins and Duke and received permission to play again.

The 6-foot-3 Hodrick has played without further incident the last two years and needs only 25 catches to become Duke's all-time leading tight end receiver.

It seemed the disorder, which Hodrick refers to as ``episodes,'' was touched off by dehydration that resulted in painful cramps.

``When the fluids were gone, my body started eating muscle for energy,'' he says.

``Now, I never pass a water fountain that I don't stop and take a drink.''

Hodrick says he's consumed as much as two gallons of water before a game. He's had to learn how to handle that diplomatically since there are no restrooms on the sidelines.

Hodrick says during the time he thought he would not be permitted to play football again he learned to appreciate the game much more.

``It is more fun now. I even enjoy two-a-days,'' he says.

He even found consolation in last year's winless season.

``No one wants to lose, no matter what they are doing. But I got to play with a bunch of great people, and we shared the experience together.''

Hodrick is optimistic that his final season will be a sweeter experience on the scoreboard.

``It is important that we win, and we have the talent to win games,'' says Hodrick, who will enter med school next year if he doesn't get a chance to play football professionally. MEMO: Coming Tuesday: Wake Forest

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