He played college football for the Missouri Tigers, and was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round (32nd overall) of the 2009 NFL draft.

Hood was also a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Chicago Bears, Washington Redskins, Miami Dolphins, and New Orleans Saints.

Hood attended Palo Duro High School in Amarillo, Texas, where he was a two-sport star in both football and track.

[1] In high school football, he earned All-District honors his junior and senior seasons.

At the end of the 2010 season, Hood and the Steelers appeared in Super Bowl XLV against the Green Bay Packers.

During his childhood, his Mexican grandmother could not correctly pronounce Evander, so she started calling him by the name of her favorite cartoon character, Ziggy.