Devlin “Duck” Hodges

Devlin Patrick Hodges was born on April 12, 1996, in Kimberly, Alabama. He earned the nickname “Duck” due to his duck-calling abilities, even winning the Junior World Duck Calling Contest in 2009 and the Alabama State Duck Calling Championship in 2018. Hodges played college football at Samford, where he became a four-year starting quarterback. His collegiate career was marked by significant achievements, including being a three-time Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Year from 2016 to 2018. In his senior year, 2018, Hodges received the Walter Payton Award, recognizing him as the most outstanding offensive player in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision. He also set an NCAA FCS career record for passing completions (1,310) and attempts (1,896), surpassing a record previously held by Steve McNair.

Hodges’ professional career began when he signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers as an undrafted free agent on May 13, 2019. After initially being waived, he was re-signed to the practice squad and quickly promoted to the active roster due to injuries to other quarterbacks. He made his NFL debut on October 6, 2019, and secured his first NFL start and win on October 13, 2019, against the Los Angeles Chargers. Hodges became a starting quarterback for the Steelers for several games in the 2019 season. During this time, he recorded 1,063 passing yards, five touchdowns, and eight interceptions in eight games, starting six of them. His ability to perform under pressure and secure wins was a notable part of the Steelers’ season. Following his time with the Steelers, Hodges briefly joined the Los Angeles Rams in 2021 and the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League in the same year, before announcing his retirement from professional football on April 22, 2022.

After retiring from professional football, Devlin Hodges transitioned into entrepreneurship. He is currently the co-owner and CEO of Club Country, a company focused on creating versatile, high-performance apparel designed to blend a rugged outdoor spirit with practical functionality.