Deonte Harty (

né The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Harris; December 4, 1997) is an American professional

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 ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

and

return specialist A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another positio ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Assumption Greyhounds The Assumption Greyhounds are the athletic sports teams for Assumption University. They are a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, Division II. The Greyhounds are a member of the Northeast-10 Conference (NE-10) and the New E ...

and signed with the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in 2019. Harty grew up in the

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

suburb of

Middle River, Maryland Middle River is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 33,203 at the 2020 census. A Middle River Train Station first appeared on the 1877 G.M. Hopkins & Co Baltimor ...

and played high school football at

Archbishop Curley High School Archbishop Curley High School is a Roman Catholic boys' high school in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore in the United States, within the Baltimore, City of Baltimore. It is affiliated with the Conventual Franciscan religious order. It i ...

where he also lettered in basketball and track & field.

Early life

As a senior at Baltimore's

, Harty was named the 2014 Varsity Sports Network Offensive Player of the Year for football. He earned All-Conference and All-State honors, and was selected to ''

The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local, regional, national, and international news. Founded in 1837, the newspaper was owned by Tribune Publi ...

s First-team All-Metro for the 2014 football season. That same year, Harty led the Friars to the

Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association The Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association (M.I.A.A.) is a boys' sports conference for private high schools generally located in the Baltimore metropolitan area but extending to various other regions, including the state's mostly rural Ea ...

(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 Loyola Blakefield is a private Catholic, college preparatory school run by the USA East Province of the Society of Jesus in Towson, Maryland and within the Archdiocese of Baltimore. It was established in 1852 by the Jesuits as an all-boys scho ...

, a game in which Harty amassed 206 total yards (140 rushing, 66 receiving) with 2

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

s. 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. 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.

College career

Harty played football at Assumption University. Assumption University 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 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

Professional career

New Orleans Saints

2019 season

Harty signed with the

as a rookie

in 2019. After an impressive training camp featuring a 78-yard touchdown return against the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

in the pre-season, Harty made the final cut and was named to the Saints 53-man roster. Harty made his NFL debut on ''

Monday Night Football ''Monday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''MNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that air on Monday nights. It originally ran on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from 1970 NFL season, 1970 t ...

'' as the Saints primary kick returner in the season-opener against the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

. During a Week 3 33–27 road victory against the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

, he scored his first NFL touchdown on a 53-yard punt return, the NFL's first punt return touchdown of the 2019 season. 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. He was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team.

2020 season

Harty was placed on the reserve/

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

list by the Saints on August 14, 2020, and was activated two days later. He scored his first professional receiving touchdown in Week 7 against the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

. On December 19, 2020, Harty was placed on injured reserve. He was activated on January 9, 2021.

2021 season

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

2022 season

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

Buffalo Bills

On March 16, 2023, Harty signed a two-year contract with the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

. 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 The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

. In week 18 against the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

, 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. Harty was named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance. Harty was released on March 6, 2024.

Baltimore Ravens

On April 14, 2024, Harty signed 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 ...

NFL statistics

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

References

External links

Baltimore Ravens bioAssumption Greyhounds bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Deonte 1997 births Living people Players of American football from Baltimore American football wide receivers American football return specialists Assumption Greyhounds football players Buffalo Bills players New Orleans Saints players National Conference Pro Bowl players Baltimore Ravens players