Published on August 21, 2018 by Joey Mullins  
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Devlin Hodges is referred to by his teammates as a “dual-threat” quarterback, but it’s the second threat that may take you by surprise.

Since an early age, Hodges has had a hobby—duck calling.  He picked up the nickname “Duck” and has lived up to it ever since.  

In 2009, Hodges entered and won the  Junior World Championship Duck Caller competition, and this past summer he took home the Alabama State Duck Calling Championship—and to Samford he’s a dual-threat quarterback, a thrower and a duck caller.

In August 2018, Hodges was named to the preseason watch list for the Walter Payton Award, and 15 days later Samford launched his Walter Payton Award campaign “DuckTales” based on his nickname and a parody of the famed Disney cartoon that has aired in 142 countries and 25 languages. The campaign has received national attention, lauded by one site as the “best Walter Payton Award campaign ever.”

Helping his chances to win the award will be his teammates, the Samford University football team was tabbed as the favorite to win the 2018 Southern Conference title when the league released its preseason polls and preseason All-SoCon teams in late July.

Entering his senior season, Hodges already owns 21 Samford records. He has a chance to break several SoCon and national FCS records as well. He has passed for 10,301 career yards, with the SoCon record being 13,264 by Scott Riddle of Elon, and the FCS record set at 14,496 by Steve McNair of Alcorn State. He has completed 922 passes, and the SoCon record is 1,168 by Riddle, with the FCS record standing at 1,184 by Jeremy Moses of Stephen F. Austin.

Hodges graduated this past spring with a degree in sport administration and is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Education.

Samford will open the 2018 season by hosting Shorter on Thursday, Aug. 30, at Seibert Stadium, with the kickoff time set for 6:30 p.m. 

 
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 5,791 students from 49 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 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.