Deonte Harty Explained

Deonte Harty
Current Team:Baltimore Ravens
Number:3
Position:Wide receiver
Birth Date:4 December 1997
Birth Place:Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Height Ft:5
Height In:6
Weight Lbs:170
High School:Archbishop Curley
(Baltimore, Maryland)
College:Assumption (2015–2018)
Undraftedyear:2019
Pastteams:
Status:Active
Highlights:
Statseason:2023
Statlabel1:Receptions
Statvalue1:79
Statlabel2:Receiving yards
Statvalue2:943
Statlabel3:Receiving touchdowns
Statvalue3:5
Statlabel4:Rushing yards
Statvalue4:123
Statlabel5:Return yards
Statvalue5:2,989
Statlabel6:Return touchdowns
Statvalue6:2
Pfr:HarrDe07

Deonte Harty (born Deonte Harris, December 4, 1997) is an American professional football wide receiver for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Assumption University in Worcester, Massachusetts, and signed with the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent in 2019. Harty grew up in the Baltimore suburb of Middle River, Maryland and played high school football at Archbishop Curley High School where he also lettered in basketball and track & field.[1]

Early life

As a senior at Baltimore's Archbishop Curley High School, Harty was named the 2014 Varsity Sports Network Offensive Player of the Year for football.[2] He earned All-Conference and All-State honors,[3] and was selected to The Baltimore Suns First-team All-Metro for the 2014 football season.[4] That same year, Harty led the Friars to the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) B Conference Championship and their first undefeated football season in school history, which included a 28–0 shutout victory over traditional MIAA "A" Conference powerhouse Loyola Blakefield, a game in which Harty amassed 206 total yards (140 rushing, 66 receiving) with 2 touchdowns.[5] He recorded 2,030 yards of total offense for that season with 25 touchdowns in 10 games. He ran for 1,450 yards for the season on 130 carries with 20 rushing touchdowns. In the 2014 MIAA Championship game, Harty had 211 total yards, scoring 5 touchdowns in a 56–14 victory over St. Paul's School to win the league championship.[4]

As a junior (2013) Harty and rushed for 933 yards on 86 carries for the Friars and scored a total of 18 touchdowns (14 rushing and four receiving). His sophomore season (2012), he went for 676 yards on 63 carries with six touchdowns.[4]

College career

Harty played football at Assumption College, a Division II school.

Assumption College career highlights:

School records:

Professional career

New Orleans Saints

2019 season

Harty signed with the New Orleans Saints as a rookie undrafted free agent in 2019.[6] [7] After an impressive training camp featuring a 78-yard touchdown return against the New York Jets in the pre-season,[8] Harty made the final cut and was named to the Saints 53-man roster.[9]

Harty made his NFL debut on Monday Night Football as the Saints primary kick returner in the season-opener against the Houston Texans.[10] During a Week 3 33–27 road victory against the Seattle Seahawks, he scored his first NFL touchdown on a 53-yard punt return, the NFL's first punt return touchdown of the 2019 season.[11]

Harty finished his rookie year as the leader in punt returns, combined returns, and punt return yards and was selected to the Pro Bowl. He was the first undrafted Saint to make the Pro Bowl roster as a rookie. He was also just one of four players in the league to have a punt return touchdown in 2019.[12] He was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team.[13]

2020 season

Harty was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list by the Saints on August 14, 2020,[14] and was activated two days later.[15] He scored his first professional receiving touchdown in Week 7 against the Carolina Panthers.[16] On December 19, 2020, Harty was placed on injured reserve.[17] He was activated on January 9, 2021.[18]

2021 season

On November 26, 2021, Harty was suspended three games after a DUI arrest in July.[19]

2022 season

On March 14, 2022, the Saints placed a second-round restricted free agent tender on Harty.[20] He was placed on injured reserve on October 15, 2022.[21]

Buffalo Bills

On March 16, 2023, Harty signed a two-year contract with the Buffalo Bills.[22] He became one of the team's main kick returners, but also saw some action on offense, catching his first touchdown with the Bills against the New York Giants. In week 18 against the Miami Dolphins, Harty returned a punt 96 yards for a touchdown, sparking a 4th-quarter comeback for the Bills as they would go on to win 21–14 and clinch the AFC East division title.[23] Harty was named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance.[24]

Harty was released on March 6, 2024.[25]

Baltimore Ravens

On April 14, 2024, Harty signed with the Baltimore Ravens.[26]

NFL statistics

Legend
Led the league
BoldCareer-high
Regular season statistics
YearTeamGamesReceivingRushingReturningFumbles
GP GS Rec Yds Avg Lng TD Att Yds Avg Lng TD Ret Yds Avg Lng TD Fum Lost
NO14 1 6 24 4.0 13 0 4 31 7.8 10 0 60 982 16.4 53T 1 3 1
NO9 2 20 186 9.3 40 1 6 51 8.5 23 0 33 643 19.5 75 0 3 1
NO13 1 36 570 15.8 72 3 5 41 8.2 22 0 50 889 17.8 39 0 2 1
NO4 0 2 13 6.5 9 0 - - - - - 9 145 16.1 33 0 0 0
BUF16 1 15 150 10.0 43 1 4 0 0.0 4 0 27 330 12.2 96T 1 2 2
Career 56 5 79 943 11.9 72 5 19 123 6.5 23 0 179 2,989 16.7 96T 2 10 5
Postseason statistics
YearTeamGamesReceivingRushingReturningFumbles
GP GS Rec Yds Avg Lng TD Att Yds Avg Lng TD Ret Yds Avg Lng TD Fum Lost
NO1 1 1 50 50.0 50 0 - - - - - 8 177 22.1 54 0 0 0
NO2 1 8 82 10.3 24 0 1 -2 -2.0 -2 0 5 83 16.6 54 0 0 0
BUF2 0 2 37 18.5 34 0 - - - - - 1 27 27.0 27 0 0 0
Career 5 2 11 169 15.4 50 0 1 -2 -2.0 -2 0 14 287 20.5 54 0 0 0

Legal issues

On July 16, 2021, Harty was arrested in Towson, Maryland on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol. He was cited for negligent driving, reckless driving, failure to obey traffic control device instructions, and exceeding the speed limit after driving erratically and going 77 mph in a 55 mph zone.[27]

In December 2021, Deonte Harris legally changed his name to Deonte Harty to honor his stepfather.[28]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: October 14, 2014 . Boys Athlete of the Week (Oct. 14): Deonte Harris, Archbishop Curley . baltimoresun.com.
  2. Web site: Curley Football's Deonte Harris (2014 Varsity Sports Network's Offensive Player of the Year) . YouTube.com.
  3. Web site: Deonte Harris . assumption.prestosports.com.
  4. Web site: The first team offense . Baltimoresun.com.
  5. Web site: Friars 28 Dons 0 . MaxPreps.com.
  6. Web site: Toland . Jennifer . April 27, 2019 . Assumption's Deonte Harris signs with New Orleans . October 30, 2020 . Telegram.com.
  7. Web site: Johnson . Luke . August 12, 2019 . Too short, small school, injury — no matter. Saints return man Deonte Harris working to overcome obstacles . October 30, 2020 . Daily Advertiser.
  8. Web site: August 26, 2019 . Analyzing the Film on Deonte Harris' Punt Return TD vs Jets, Expert Analysis, New Orleans Saints . Youtube.com.
  9. Web site: Just . Amie . August 25, 2019 . Saints rookie Deonte Harris goes 'off to the races' against Jets with return touchdown . October 30, 2020 . NOLA.com.
  10. Web site: Toland . Jennifer . September 5, 2019 . Former Assumption star Deonte Harris is ready to debut under Monday night lights . October 30, 2020 . Telegram.com.
  11. Web site: Sigler . John . September 22, 2019 . Deonte Harris gets Saints on the board early with 53-yard punt return TD . January 28, 2020 . Saints Wire . en.
  12. Web site: Just . Amie . December 17, 2019 . 7 Saints named to 2020 Pro Bowl roster, including undrafted rookie Deonte Harris . October 30, 2020 . nola.com.
  13. Web site: 2019 NFL All-Rookie Team . 2024-07-27 . Pro-Football-Reference.com . en.
  14. Web site: Just . Amie . August 14, 2020 . Saints place All-Pro returner Deonte Harris on reserve/COVID-19 list . August 14, 2020 . NOLA.com.
  15. Web site: Gantt . Darin . August 16, 2020 . Saints activate Deonte Harris from COVID-19 list . August 17, 2020 . NBCSports.com.
  16. Web site: Carolina Panthers at New Orleans Saints – October 25th, 2020 . October 30, 2020 . Pro-Football-Reference.com . en.
  17. Web site: December 19, 2020 . New Orleans Saints announce roster moves . February 4, 2021 . NewOrleansSaints.com.
  18. Web site: Alper . Josh . January 9, 2021 . Saints activate Alvin Kamara, Michael Thomas . February 16, 2021 . NBCSports.com.
  19. Web site: Rapoport . Ian . November 26, 2021 . Saints WR Deonte Harris appealing three-game suspension for DUI arrest . January 31, 2023 . NFL.com.
  20. Web site: Simmons . Myles . March 14, 2022 . Saints tender Deonte Harty at second-round level . January 31, 2023 . Pro Football Talk . NBC Sports.
  21. Web site: October 15, 2022 . New Orleans Saints announce roster moves . January 31, 2023 . NewOrleansSaints.com.
  22. Web site: Wide receiver and return specialist Deonte Harty signs a two-year deal with the Bills. March 16, 2023. March 17, 2023. BuffaloBills.com. Maddy. Glab.
  23. Web site: Bronstein . Jonah . 2024-01-10 . Deonte Harty displayed special talent at opportune time for Bills . 2024-01-13 . News 4 Buffalo.
  24. Web site: 2024-01-10 . Bills' Deonte Harty named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week . 2024-01-13 . wgrz.com.
  25. Web site: March 6, 2024. Buffalo Bills release five players including Jordan Poyer, Mitch Morse and Siran Neal. March 6, 2024. BuffaloBills.com.
  26. Web site: Ravens Sign Receiver/Returner Deonte Harty . 2024-04-14 . BaltimoreRavens.com . en-US.
  27. Web site: Just . Amie . July 29, 2021 . Saints WR Deonte Harris arrested on suspicion of DUI near Baltimore; 2-game suspension possible . January 31, 2023 . NOLA.com . en.
  28. Web site: Sigler . John . December 25, 2021 . Deonte Harris changes his legal name to honor his stepfather . September 25, 2022 . USA Today.