Against the Baltimore Ravens, Mason Rudolph got knocked out of the game with a concussion. Pittsburgh was already without Ben Roethlisberger, who is going to miss the rest of the season with an arm injury. They turned to an unknown rookie at quarterback, Devlin Hodges.
His high school football career took place at Mortimer Jordan High School in Alabama. He was a four-year starter, who threw for 4,900 yards and 44 touchdowns in his last three seasons. Accolades came his way in the state of Alabama throughout his four seasons. Hodges was good enough to get looks from colleges at the FBS level, as he even committed to play for Southern Miss at one point in time.
Hodges was a three-star prospect in the class of 2014 according to 247sports.com. A pocket-passer out of high school, Hodges decided to attend FCS-level Samford for his college career.
Devlin Hodges (photo by al.com)
In his first year on campus, Hodges redshirted. Ever since that season, he saw the field for the Bulldogs. As a redshirt freshman, Hodges threw for 2,230 yards, 12 touchdowns and six interceptions on 69.4 percent passing. That was all in nine games.
As a sophomore, Hodges had what could be considered his best season of his college career. He passed for 4,088 yards, 36 touchdowns and eight interceptions on 70.8 percent completion. Hodges finished his college career at Samford with 14,584 passing yards, 111 touchdowns and 41 interceptions on 69.1 percent completion.
He won the 2018 Walter Payton Award which is given to the best player in the FCS. Hodges also set the FCS record for most passing yards in a career that was previously held by Alcorn State legend Steve McNair. The man that coaches call “Duck” was one of the most accomplished quarterbacks in FCS history.
Hodges went undrafted in the 2019 NFL Draft, but signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers as an undrafted free agent. After being waived and re-signed a few times, Hodges was promoted to the active roster after Roethlisberger was injured. He was the backup to Mason Rudolph and had to enter the game against the Ravens when Rudolph went down.
In the game against the Ravens, Hodges completed seven of nine passes for 68 yards. He did not throw a touchdown or an interception and finished with a QBR of 96.6. While the Steelers lost the game in overtime, Hodges played solidly given the circumstances.
With Rudolph being questionable this week against the Chargers on Sunday Night Football, Hodges may be called upon again to run the offense. If Rudolph is out, Hodges will start in his place, while former first-round pick Paxton Lynch will back him up.
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