Derek Homer is an American

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

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 Fort Knox is a United States Army installation in Kentucky, south of Louisville and north of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, Elizabethtown. It is adjacent to the United States Bullion Depository (also known as Fort Knox), which is used to house a larg ...

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 University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

. 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 in Tampa, Florida. The event was known as the Hall of Fame Bowl from 1986 to 1995 and the Outback Bowl from 1996 to 2022. It was held at Tampa Stadium from 1986 until 1999, when it ...

. 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 and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

en route to the

Music City Bowl The Music City Bowl is a post-season American college football bowl game certified by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA that has been played in Nashville, Tennessee, since 1998 in sports, 1998. Since 2020, it has been sponsored by ...

. 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. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

. In 2001, Homer played in the

NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa) was a professional American football league that functioned as the List of developmental and minor sports leagues, developmental minor league of the Nati ...

for the

Barcelona Dragons Two American football franchises have been referred to as the Barcelona Dragons: * Barcelona Dragons (NFL Europe) The Barcelona Dragons were an American football team that was a part of the World League of American Football and later in the res ...

. Homer was also briefly with the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: ''Les Alouettes de Montréal'') are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has disbanded twice and been re-established thrice. The Alouettes compe ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

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