Introduction
Devlin "Duck" Hodges (born April 12, 1996) is an American football quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Samford, after playing at Mortimer Jordan High School. He was signed by the Steelers as an undrafted free agent in 2019.
College career
Hodges was a four-year starter at quarterback for Samford. He was named the Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Year three times, and he was the recipient of the 2018 Walter Payton Award during his senior year in which he set the NCAA FCS career record for passing yards with 14,584. Hodges’ mark broke the previous record that was set by former Alcorn State quarterback Steve McNair in 1994.
| Year | Team | G | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Yds/att | TD | INT |
| 2014 | Samford | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 | Samford | 9 | 200 | 288 | 64.9 | 2,230 | 7.7 | 12 | 6 |
| 2016 | Samford | 12 | 375 | 530 | 70.8 | 4,088 | 7.7 | 36 | 8 |
| 2017 | Samford | 12 | 347 | 528 | 65.7 | 3,983 | 7.5 | 31 | 11 |
| 2018 | Samford | 11 | 388 | 550 | 70.5 | 4,283 | 7.8 | 32 | 16 |
| Career | 45 | 1,310 | 1,896 | 69.1 | 14,584 | 7.7 | 111 | 41 |
Professional career
Hodges signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers as an undrafted free agent on May 13, 2019. He was waived on August 31, 2019. The Steelers re-signed Hodges to their practice squad on September 10, 2019. He was promoted to the active roster on September 16, 2019 following an injury to starter Ben Roethlisberger.
On October 6, 2019, he made his professional debut with the Steelers in a game against the Baltimore Ravens following an injury to Mason Rudolph. In his first regular season game, Hodges completed seven of nine passes for 68 yards, and ran the ball twice for 20 yards. He won his first NFL start in the October 13, 2019 game against the Los Angeles Chargers. In the game, Hodges threw for 132 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. On November 24, 2019, Hodges replaced Rudolph midway through the third quarter and threw for 118 yards which included a 79-yard touchdown pass en route to a 16–10 comeback victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. On November 26, Steelers' head coach Mike Tomlin named Hodges the starting quarterback for the Steelers' next game against the Cleveland Browns. In the game, Hodges threw for 212 yards, one touchdown, and one interception in the 20–13 win. After another win over the Arizona Cardinals, Hodges struggled against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday Night Football on December 15, 2019, throwing for 202 yards, 1 touchdown, and a career-high 4 interceptions as the Steelers lost 10–17.
In Week 16 against the New York Jets, Hodges was benched early in the second quarter for Rudolph after throwing two interceptions.He was put back into the game in the fourth quarter after Rudolph suffered a shoulder injury. The Steelers lost 10–16. In total, Hodges threw for 84 yards and two interceptions during the loss. Hodges appeared in eight games as a rookie and totaled 1,063 passing yards, five touchdowns, and eight interceptions.
Career statistics
| Season | Passing | Rushing | Sacked | Fumbles | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | GP | GS | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Y/A | Lng | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Sck | Yds | Fum | Lst |
| 2019 | PIT | 8 | 6 | 3–3 | 100 | 160 | 62.5 | 1,063 | 6.6 | 79 | 5 | 8 | 71.4 | 21 | 68 | 3.2 | 22 | 0 | 15 | 102 | 5 | 1 |
| Career | 8 | 6 | 3–3 | 100 | 160 | 62.5 | 1,063 | 6.6 | 79 | 5 | 8 | 71.4 | 21 | 68 | 3.2 | 22 | 0 | 15 | 102 | 5 | 1 | |
Personal life
Hodges gained the nickname "Duck" at Samford for his prowess at duck calling. Hodges won the 2009 Junior World Duck Calling Contest at age 13 and won the 2018 Alabama State Duck Calling Championship.