Published on May 15, 2019 by Joey Mullins  
Hodges Steelers

Former Samford quarterback Devlin Hodges ‘18 has signed an undrafted free agent deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League.
 
Hodges has spent the last two weeks at rookie minicamps for two different teams — the New York Giants last week, and the Steelers this week.
 
Hodges, the 2018 Walter Payton Award winner as the top offensive player in all of FCS football, set a school record for single-season passing yards, throwing for 4,283 yards this season. Hodges had six games this season in which he threw for at least 400 yards. He was also named SoCon Offensive Player of the Year three years in a row.
 
For his career, Hodges became the all-time leader in career passing yards in FCS history. His 14,584 career passing yards broke the old FCS national record of 14,496, set by Steve McNair at Alcorn State University from 1991-94.
 
Hodges is the third member of the 2018 Samford football team to sign a free agent deal with an NFL team. Following the NFL draft, wide receiver Kelvin McKnight and defensive lineman Ahmad Gooden signed UDFA deals, both with the Denver Broncos.
 
During the 2018 season, five Samford players were on NFL rosters. Michael Pierce started on the defensive line for the Baltimore Ravens. James Bradberry started in the secondary for the Carolina Panthers, while Jaquiski Tartt started as safety for the San Francisco 49ers. Nick Williams was a reserve defensive lineman for the Chicago Bears and Austin Barnard spent the season on the injured reserve list with the Tennessee Titans.

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks with the second highest score in the nation for its 98% Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.