Deonte Harty
refer to caption
Harty with the Saints in 2021
No. 11 – Buffalo Bills
Position:Wide receiver
Return specialist
Personal information
Born: (1997-12-04) December 4, 1997
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Height:5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Weight:170 lb (77 kg)
Career information
High school:Archbishop Curley
(Baltimore, Maryland)
College:Assumption (2015–2018)
Undrafted:2019
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 2023
Receptions:79
Receiving yards:943
Receiving touchdowns:5
Rushing yards:123
Return yards:2,989
Return touchdowns:2
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Deonte Harty (born Deonte Harris,[1] December 4, 1997) is an American football wide receiver and return specialist for the Buffalo Bills 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.[2]

High school career

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.[3] He earned All-Conference and All-State honors,[4] and was selected to The Baltimore Sun's First-team All-Metro for the 2014 football season.[5] 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.[6] 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.[7]

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.[8]

College career

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

Assumption College career highlights:

  • Holds the NCAA record (regardless of division) as college football's all-time leader for combined touchdown returns – 14
  • Holds the NCAA D-II Record for single-season combined touchdown returns – 8
  • Tied NCAA Division-II Record for single-game kickoff return touchdowns – 2
  • Tied NCAA Division-II Record for single-season punt return touchdowns – 5
  • 2017 Northeast-10 Conference MVP
  • 2015 Northeast-10 Conference Rookie of the Year
  • 2018 Second-team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association
  • 2018 Northeast-10 Conference First-team All-Conference as WR & KR
  • 2017 First-team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association
  • 2017 First-team All-American by Conference Commissioner's Association
  • 2017 Second-team All-American by D2football.com
  • 2017 Northeast-10 Conference First-team All-Conference as WR & KR
  • 2015 Don Hansen Football Gazette Second-team All-American[9]

School records:

  • Career Touchdowns (45)
  • All-purpose yards in school history- 6,173
  • Combined touchdown returns in school history – 14
  • Combined touchdown returns in a single season in school history – 8 (2017)
  • Punt return touchdowns in a single season – 5 (2017)
  • Punts returned for touchdowns in a single game – 2 (twice)
  • Kickoffs returned for touchdowns in a single game – 2
  • Punts returned for touchdowns in school history – 8
  • Kickoffs returned for touchdowns in school history – 6[10]

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightArm lengthHand span40-yard dash10-yard split20-yard split20-yard shuttleThree-cone drillVertical jumpBroad jumpBench press
5 ft 6+3⁄8 in
(1.69 m)		 171 lb
(78 kg)		 28+1⁄4 in
(0.72 m)		 8+3⁄4 in
(0.22 m)		4.48 s1.51 s2.50 s4.16 s6.82 s33.0 in
(0.84 m)		9 ft 6 in
(2.90 m)		10 reps
All values from Pro Day[11]

New Orleans Saints

2019 season

Harty signed with the New Orleans Saints as a rookie undrafted free agent in 2019.[12][13] After an impressive training camp featuring a 78-yard touchdown return against the New York Jets in the pre-season,[14] Harty made the final cut and was named to the Saints 53-man roster.[15]

Harty made his NFL debut on Monday Night Football as the Saints primary kick returner in the season-opener against the Houston Texans.[16] 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.[17]

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.[18]

2020 season

Harty was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list by the Saints on August 14, 2020,[19] and was activated two days later.[20] He scored his first professional receiving touchdown in Week 7 against the Carolina Panthers.[21] On December 19, 2020, Harty was placed on injured reserve.[22] He was activated on January 9, 2021.[23]

2021 season

On November 26, 2021, Harty was suspended three games after a DUI arrest in July.[24]

2022 season

On March 14, 2022, the Saints placed a second-round restricted free agent tender on Harty.[25] He was placed on injured reserve on October 15, 2022.[26]

Buffalo Bills

On March 16, 2023, Harty signed a two-year contract with the Buffalo Bills.[27] 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.[28] Harty was named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance.[29]

NFL statistics

Legend
Led the league
Bold Career-high
Regular season statistics
Year Team Games Receiving Rushing Returning Fumbles
GPGSRecYdsAvgLngTDAttYdsAvgLngTDRetYdsAvgLngTDFumLost
2019NO 1416244.01304317.81006098216.453T131
2020NO 92201869.34016518.52303364319.575031
2021NO 1313657015.87235418.52305088917.839021
2022 NO 4 0 2 13 6.5 9 0 -- -- -- -- -- 9 145 16.1 33 0 0 0
2023 BUF 16 1 15 150 10.0 43 1 4 0 0.0 4 0 27 330 12.2 96T 1 2 2
Career5657994311.9725191236.52301792,98916.796T2105
Postseason statistics
Year Team Games Receiving Rushing Returning Fumbles
GPGSRecYdsAvgLngTDAttYdsAvgLngTDRetYdsAvgLngTDFumLost
2019NO 1115050.0500000.000817722.154000
Career1115050.0500000.000817722.154000

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.[30]

In December 2021, Deonte Harris legally changed his name to Deonte Harty to honor his stepfather.[1]

References

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