Quack Attack: Redblacks name Devlin ‘Duck’ Hodges starting QB vs. Argos

Photo courtesy: Scott Grant / CFLPhotoArchive.com

The Ottawa Redblacks have made a change under centre this week as they host the Toronto Argonauts.

Devlin ‘Duck’ Hodges will start at quarterback on Saturday afternoon in what will be his first CFL start. Caleb Evans had started the team’s previous six games after Matt Nichols and Dominique Davis got looks to start the season.

Hodges has dressed for two games since signing with Ottawa and saw playing time in one, completing 8-of-16 pass attempts for 49 yards and one interception. He also ran the ball five times for 13 yards in what was a 32-3 loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

The 25-year-old played in eight NFL games, six as the starter, with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He completed 100-of-160 passes (62.5 percent) for 1,063 yards with five touchdowns and eight interceptions and rushed 21 times for 68 yards while compiling a 3-3 win-loss record.

He was signed by the Los Angeles Rams in January, attended training camp in July, but was among the final roster cuts in August. Hodges earned nearly $600,000 while in the NFL for two seasons.

The six-foot-one, 210-pound native of Kimberly, Ala. most recently worked out for the New York Giants and New England Patriots. Hodges originally signed with the Steelers as an undrafted free agent in 2019 following a standout collegiate career.

In his four years as the starter at Samford University, Hodges was named the Southern Conference Player of the Year three times. In 2018, a season in which Hodges set an NCAA Football Championship Subdivision record for passing yards in a career, he earned the Walter Payton Award.

During 45 games, Hodges completed 69.1 percent of his passes for 14,584 yards with 111 touchdowns and 41 interceptions during his storied career at Samford.

The Redblacks are amid a five-game losing streak during which threw for two touchdowns and nine interceptions. He was most effective with his legs, carrying the ball 30 times over his six starts for 286 yards, an average of 9.8 yards per carry.