Duvernay selected by Baltimore Ravens

AUSTIN, Texas – Texas wide receiver Devin Duvernay was selected by the Baltimore Ravens with the 92nd overall pick in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft on Friday.

"It's a dream come true. I've just been sitting back and reflecting on all the hard work I've done and I've just been reminiscing," Duvernay said. "I don't even know what to say, but I'm so happy where I am and can't believe I've gotten this far, but I'm going to keep working. (The moment) was surreal. You get a little antsy waiting around and then you get a phone call and it's so exciting. They tell you the business and it feels like a bunch of weight off your shoulders. I could barely talk and get words out. I was just super excited."

With Duvernay's selection, Texas has had nine wide receivers taken since the NFL Draft moved to its current seven-round format in 1994. The Sachse, Texas native is the fifth Texas player taken by Baltimore (DeShon Elliott, 2016; Chykie Brown, 2011; Sergio Kindle, 2010; Cedric Woodard, 2000) and he will join Elliott, Earl Thomas and Justin Tucker as Longhorns on the Ravens' 2020 roster.

"In Devin, they're getting a fierce competitor," Texas head coach Tom Herman said. "This a guy who I describe as someone that plays angry. He would rather run through you than around you. He's got elite speed and is a former 100-meter dash state champion in high school, a guy that led the country in the regular season in catches. He has extremely strong hands. I think he had only one drop in his four-year career. Which is amazing considering the number of catches that he had. He's a team captain, a tremendous leader with great work ethic, and he's extremely versatile. This is a guy, in talking with a lot of the head coaches that I talked to, although he played in the slot his senior year, he played outside the previous three years. He's also built like a running back, and we played him in the backfield a little bit, too. He's a guy that can do it all and certainly did for us this past season."

Duvernay started all 13 games for Texas last season and earned first-team All-Big 12 honors for the first time in his career after catching 106 passes for 1,386 yards and nine touchdowns out of the slot. Duvernay was also honorable mention as the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year, a semifinalist for the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award and was named to the Biletnikoff Award's midseason watch list. His 106 receptions and 1,386 receiving yards both rank as the second-most in school history. Duvernay led all Big 12 receivers in catches, catches per game, receiving yards, receiving yards per game and was third in receiving touchdowns last season. He is only the third Longhorn to record at least 100 receptions in a single season (Kwame Cavil, 1999; Jordan Shipley, 2009), and the first to catch at least six passes in the first 12 games of a season since Cavil in 1999.

Duvernay played in all 52 games and made 30 starts during his four-year career at UT. He finished his career with 176 receptions (No. 8 in school history) for 2,468 yards (No. 8) and 16 touchdowns (No. 6). Duvernay also eight 100-yard games in his career, the sixth-most by a Longhorn all time. Seven of his 100-yard outings occurred during his historic 2019 campaign, tying Shipley (2009) and Wane McGarity (1998) for the school's single-season record.

The Sachse, Texas native was a three-time Academic All-Big 12 First Team selection (2017-19) and a five-time member of the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll. He graduated from The University of Texas with a degree in sport management and a minor in business.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING
ESPN analyst Louis Riddick
"He's a 100 meter track champion. He's a guy who can absolutely fly with a sub 10.5 in the 100 meters. He's somebody who has that run-after-the-catch skill where he can show off his sub 10.5 100 meters. He worked primarily in the slot. Against Utah, he absolutely tore them up from the slot. He can line up outside and run the double moves, and then he has tremendous ball tracking skills down the field to make the contested catches. It doesn't matter how much you push on him, he's someone who can always come up with the big play. He was guy who was a little tight, but I tell you what, he will work on it, and that speed is game breaking."

ESPN analyst Mel Kiper, Jr.
"You saw the improvement this year in terms of his hands and his concentration. He became much more consistent catching the football out of that slot. You think about (current Ravens) Miles Boykin needs to step it up, you've got Hollywood (Marquise) Brown, now you add that 4.39 speedster, and can catches that short pass. That's what I love about Duvernay – he gives you everything he has, he's a great kid, picks up a lot of yards after contact, excellent hands. This year he showed after having a guy who you thought might be inconsistent during his career, his production was off the charts. In the Oklahoma State game, he had 12 catches. He had eight catches against TCU against Gladney and those defensive backs. I think Devin Duvernay is a great pick for (Ravens Executive VP & General Manager) Eric DeCosta."

Devin Duvernay
On his family's emotions:
"It's a dream come true for all of us. We're all just excited and happy how things worked out. It's exciting for the future, and it was just a special moment for us."

On the Ravens and the city of Baltimore:
"I haven't been there, so I don't know too much about the city, but I'm looking forward to getting to know it a lot better. The Ravens are a great organization and were one of the best teams in the NFL last year. They have a lot of dynamic playmakers including Lamar Jackson, so I can't wait to get started. I talked to the head coach and the GM. They said they really liked my game and they were holding their breath for 20 picks hoping they could get me. They said they're really excited about me, like how I play and like what I bring to the table."

On having former Longhorns DeShon Elliott, Earl Thomas and Justin Tucker on the roster:
"It's perfect. I loved that about it, especially DeShon since I played with him and am good friends with him. We relate really well. Having people I can rely on for advice and talk to and not go into it not knowing anybody, I'm happy I'm going somewhere with a former teammate, especially."

On former teammates he's talked to:
"I've been getting phone calls back to back, so I haven't been able to talk much or text people back yet, so I'm going to get to that all tonight."

On being prepared for this by his time at Texas:
"Most definitely, it's something where Coach Herman and Coach McKnight and their program have me prepared for the NFL. I'm excited. I feel like I go in and have a great chance because the things we did at Texas correlate to the NFL for the future."

Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh
On his fist pump before picking Duvernay:
"I was excited because I think it was New England who traded in there right in front of us, so I was just kind of excited because you never know who they're coming in there to get or what they're going to do, and we were just hoping that we would get Devin. Once they took (UCLA TE Devin) Asiasi, and our guy was there, I was pretty fired up about it."

On Devin Duvernay:
"One priority I think for us was to get a fast guy. Just get another fast guy in the offense – a speed guy. Now you've got a guy who caught over 106 balls (in 2019). I think in his career he had over 160 catches with one drop. That's what we had in our count. But I didn't see a drop on tape this last year. Numerous big catches over the top of guys. He's only 5-10, but big, strong, tough. Real competitive guy. He's got a little bit of a chip on his shoulder. We talked to him on the phone and he was a little bit excited, but he was a little bit miffed that he was still there, which I love when guys feel that way, especially in the third round. I think he feels like he's got something to prove. This is a guy that we were looking to get for a while there and I'm glad it worked out."

Baltimore Ravens GM Eric DeCosta
On what he liked about Duvernay"
"I just like Devin's competitive streak, his nature. He's a tough guy. He reminds me of a few guys we've had here in Baltimore. I'll reference guys like Anquan (Boldin) and Derrick Mason, and of course Steve Smith. Those guys all had a competitive spirit that made them stand out. I don't think Devin's the biggest guy by any stretch, but he's very tough, very physical, he catches the ball really well and he's really tough with the football. I like those competitive guys that don't go down. He's kind of got that style to him. He's almost like a running back with the football. As Coach (John Harbaugh) said, he caught 106 passes last year and I didn't see a dropped ball. I think that guy just really fits us – who we are – as a team, and with his mindset. We're excited about him and he's very fast. Maybe one of the fastest guys we have in Baltimore when it's all said and done."

ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Taking flight with the @Ravens. Congratulations @Dev_Duv5! 🤘#ThisIsTexas #HookEm #NFLDraft #TexasMade pic.twitter.com/J8UdvBv2K6
— Texas Football (@TexasFootball) April 25, 2020

Welcome to Baltimore, @Dev_Duv5 ❗️❗️ pic.twitter.com/RTFDhFcFaa
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) April 25, 2020

The moment @Dev_Duv5 became a member of the @Ravens. 🤘#ThisIsTexas #HookEm #NFLDraft #TexasMade pic.twitter.com/SHjABiqYn9
— Texas Football (@TexasFootball) April 25, 2020

What a transformation over his career. So much respect for this man. Congratulations ⁦@Dev_Duv5⁩ Well deserved and earned. So proud to have coached him#LongornForLife 🤘🏼 pic.twitter.com/Bobo1TuH4X
— Coach Tom Herman (@CoachTomHerman) April 25, 2020

.@Dev_Duv5 can't wait to get to Baltimore‼️ pic.twitter.com/J1bo6MxoMb
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) April 25, 2020

The University of Texas at Austin Athletics

Players Mentioned

Devin Duvernay