Devlin Hodges, not Mason Rudolph, will start the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Week 13 matchup against the Cleveland Browns.
But you may be wondering something: A lot of people — including his teammates and coaches — call him Duck Hodges. What’s up with that?
It turns out there’s a great story behind the nickname.
Hodges is an avid duck hunter and duck caller, so his coach at Samford, Chris Hatcher, started calling him “Duck.” Per ESPN, Mike Tomlin called him “Duck Dynasty.”
Here’s more from the Worldwide Leader’s profile of him: “Once (his father) Zane introduced his oldest son to the duck call, he hardly ever put it down. He was a natural and started competing in call tournaments and championships in the Southeast, frequently traveling to Arkansas to hunt and compete. … While Hodges let competition duck calling take a backseat to football in college, he proved he still had it last year when he won the Alabama state duck calling championship.”
That’s right, he’s a state champion in duck calling:
He also leans into it on Twitter:
So there you have it. Devlin “Duck” Hodges is a starting NFL quarterback and an incredible duck caller.
