Derek Homer is an American football player who played for the University of Kentucky and the Baltimore Ravens in the NFL

High school

Homer won the Kentucky "Mr. Football" Award at Fort Knox High School in 1996. At graduation he was the most prolific running back in Kentucky high school history, with 8,224 yards on 932 carries and 110 touchdowns. He averaged 8.8 yards per carry and 164.5 yards per game rushing over his career. As a senior, he gained 3,003 yards and 43 touchdowns on 295 carries.

College

Homer played college football at the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state ...

. As a freshman, Homer was named to the Knoxville News-Sentinel Freshman All-SEC team after playing in all eleven games (starting six) and gaining 502 yards rushing (5.7 per carry). As a sophomore, Homer started nine games and was Kentucky's leading rusher with 716 yards on 137 carries (5.2 per carry) while also catching 41 passes for 239 yards on a team that played in the

Outback Bowl The ReliaQuest Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, usually on New Year's Day. The event has been formerly called the Hall of Fame Bowl from 1986 to 1995 and the Outback Bowl from 1996 to ...

. As a junior, Homer started six games and gained 332 yards on 94 carries and scored two touchdowns in a victory over

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

en route to the

Music City Bowl The Music City Bowl is a post-season American college football bowl game certified by the NCAA that has been played in Nashville, Tennessee, since 1998. Since 2020, it has been sponsored by TransPerfect and is officially known as the ''TransPer ...

. As a senior, Homer rushed 34 times for 139 yards and caught 38 passes for 341 yards. Homer left Kentucky having played in all 44 regular season games during his career. He was ranked ninth in school history with 1,689 rushing yards, and third in school history with 129 pass receptions (for 1,052 yards). Homer tallied 2,840 all purpose yards during his college career.

Professional football

Homer was briefly with the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays it ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

. In 2001, Homer played in the NFL Europe for the Barcelona Dragons. Homer was also briefly with the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the East Division of the Canad ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

Primary sources

* University of Kentucky Football 2000 Media Guide (2000) * University of Kentucky Football 2001 Media Guide (2001)

External sources

Pro Football Reference page

Homer's Odyssey Returns to UK, article in Kentucky Kernel newspaper

{{DEFAULTSORT:Homer, Derek Kentucky Wildcats football players 1977 births Players of American football from Kentucky Living people Kentucky Horsemen players