Timing has been everything for Steelers rookie quarterback Devlin Hodges.

Like when he broke Steve McNair's FCS career passing record.

It was the last game of his college career at Samford and - well, let Hodges tell the story:

"What stood out was getting the win," said the 6-1, 210-pounder. "I told everyone that week, 'Look, I just want to win.' In the back of my mind, and what my coaches were telling me, they were like 'If you break the record, there's a good chance we win the game.' So it was awesome. It was awesome to see the guys pulling for me, but at the same time winning the game.

"I think the coolest part about it is I broke the record the last play of the third quarter, so time ran out and they announced it at the stadium. Having my whole team come up and congratulate me, that's a moment I'll remember forever. I've had a lot of guys along the way help me do that. I've had some guys that made my job a lot easier. They make it easy to throw the ball to; coaches coaching, linemen blocking, everything. It's definitely cool to have your name at the top, for sure."

And then he was named winner of the Walter Payton Award, or, as Hodges called it, "the Heisman of FCS. Technically it's the Offensive Player (of the Year), but everyone refers to it as the Heisman of FCS."

It capped a career in which Hodges compiled 14,584 passing yards as a four-year starter, and with the names McNair and Payton on his resume.

So, he came out of school a highly decorated QB with a slight chance, he thought, of being drafted. But he wasn't. And then he wasn't signed. He did receive two invitations to try out at rookie minicamps. The first week he sampled the New York Giants, and the second week the Steelers, who had, most thought, four solid quarterbacks to take to training camp.

There were, of course, Ben Roethlisberger, Joshua Dobbs and Mason Rudolph. They had also signed Brogan Roback, a first-year player two years removed from breaking Charlie Batch's records at Eastern Michigan. Roback came close to making the Cleveland Browns in 2018 and seemed a likely "camp arm" for training camp. And "camp arms" are just one injury away from a potential roster spot.

That's where Hodges stands after beating out Roback and the nephew of former Pitt coach Paul Chryst, Keller Chryst, at rookie minicamp. So, Hodges went to spring practices with the rest of the 90-man roster and didn't look like the normal rookie "camp arm"; he looked like he knew what he was doing.

"It's definitely different," Hodges said during the final week of the month-long practices. "At Samford, we were a no-huddle, two or three-words-a-play team. Then coming here the terminology's a lot different. Obviously the speed of the game's different, but I really do feel like I'm adjusting to it really well. If you go back through OTAs, and maybe today at minicamp, there were a couple of throws I wish I could've had back, but I feel like overall I've been doing really well and I've been competing. I'm really enjoying it."

Nope, not Bubby Brister. It's Devlin Hodges.

Hodges came out of his first NFL spring having passed one major test and looking for more. It's been that way all of his football life, or, as the Kimberly, Alabama, native put it, "Football, ever since I've been five years old, has been my love."

He grew up 20 miles north of Birmingham, 85 miles northeast of Tuscaloosa, and of course dreamed of one day playing for the Crimson Tide. He played in high school like it could happen. He threw for 4,900 yards and 44 touchdowns in his final three seasons as a starter at Mortimer-Jordan High, but it didn't elicit an offer from Alabama. However, Hodges was hardly ignored on the recruiting circuit.

"Samford was my smallest offer," he said, "and I say that because I want kids out there to realize that it's not necessarily the biggest school that's the best fit. I was committed to Southern Miss for a little while, but I decided to de-commit from there and go to Samford just because at the time I felt like, for me, that was a place I could go and compete early and play a lot. At the time, Pat Sullivan was the head coach - a Heisman Trophy winner. I was then very fortunate to have coach Chris Hatcher come in, and his style of offense, as he would say, was tailor-made for me. I was just thankful for Samford. Even outside of football, it's a great school. You can get a great education there, and it was close to home, and it was just a place I felt comfortable at."

Hodges redshirted under Sullivan, started as a redshirt freshman under Hatcher, and went on to put together 45 games of a record-setting career. Rebuilding under a new coach, Samford played in only two playoff games, but each year played one of the top programs in the nation, and Hodges played well in those games. In games at Louisville (2015), Mississippi State (2016), Georgia (2017) and Florida State (2018), Hodges completed 63 percent of his passes and averaged 312 passing yards per game.

"Everyone knew we were a passing team in college and we didn't shy down from that," Hodges said. "I threw the ball 69 times against Mississippi State. That's a lot of fun. The atmosphere is a lot different. A home game for us, or even an away Southern Conference game, you're playing in front of max 10,000. But when you go play at Mississippi State, Georgia, Florida State, that goes to 70-90,000 and it's a lot different. So it's always enjoyable to play in those big games. I like to think that the bigger the stage, the better I play."

He nearly pulled out a win at Florida State. Samford took an early lead, went back up 26-21 midway through the fourth quarter, and Hodges had the Bulldogs on the move late in the game, down 29-26. But, he was intercepted for a clinching touchdown with 2:23 left.

Devlin Hodges threw 60 passes against Brian Burns (99) and Florida State and wasn't sacked.

"Yeah, that game stands out," Hodges said. "That's one game in college I wish I could have back because that's a game we should've won. Just little miscues between me and a receiver, and I know that happens when you throw it. When you throw it as much as we did you're going to have a couple mistakes. Still, though, you're talking about the atmosphere, having guys on the team from Florida who grew up Florida State fans. Just getting to see them go back and be in that atmosphere, that's what makes it fun."

What wasn't so fun was a draft process in which Hodges was left empty-handed.

"The expectations I had coming out were that I would maybe get drafted, but at least (be) a free agent," he said. "In my mind, I think I should've been drafted, but I was thankful that Dan Rooney Jr.'s son goes to Samford and I had a connection with him throughout this whole draft process. He called me after the draft and asked me if I wanted to come with a minicamp invite. The week before I came to the Steelers, I went to the Giants' minicamp. I wanted to go get a feel for what a minicamp, rookie minicamp, was like. And I came here to do what I could do and that's all I can control. Thankfully they've asked me to come back and I've enjoyed every day since."

He passed the first test in making the 90-man roster. The next test will be more difficult, but, again, he's only one player away.

"I've never been a guy to step down from competition," Hodges said. "I love competition. I'm a competitor. I can go out there and compete each and every play and know my assignments and know what my guys are supposed to do, and that's all I can control. I can't control if they want to keep me or not. I would like to say, though, that I did well enough, that I had to be good enough to make them keep me. I just come out here and compete and do the best I can each and every day."

Roethlisberger (7), Hodges (6), Rudolph (2) and Dobbs.

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