BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Highlighted by All-American quarterback Michael Hiers, three members of the Samford football team received mini-camp invitations following the NFL draft, the program announced on Monday. 
 
Hiers will be joining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for mini-camp while wide receiver Qadir Ismail accepted an invitation to the Baltimore Ravens camp. Fellow wide out, R.J. Starkey will be heading to camps held by the New England Patriots and the Green Bay Packers. 
 
This season, Hiers threw for 3,056 yards on 315-of-442 passing and 18 touchdowns. With 205 yards through the air in the season finale against No. 19 UT Martin, Hiers surpassed the 3,000-yard passing plateau for the season to become the first Samford quarterback to reach that mark in a back-to-back season since Devlin Hodges in 2016-18. 
 
During the historic 2022 season, Hiers was named the Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Year after leading the Bulldogs to an 11-2 overall record and a perfect 8-0 mark in SoCon play. The 2022 team won the program's first outright SoCon title and reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division I-FCS Playoffs for the first time since 1991. 
 
Individually in 2022, Hiers passed for a SoCon-best 3,544 yards and 36 touchdowns to tie Devlin Hodges' single-season school record that he set in 2016. Hiers ranked in the top 10 nationally in completion percentage (76.6%/1st), completions per game (27.15/3rd), passing efficiency (165.2/8th), passing touchdowns (36/4th), passing yards (3,544/6th), points responsible for (2,234/6th) and points responsible per game (18/7th) for the 2022 season.
    
In addition to his SoCon Offensive Player of the Year honor, Hiers was named second-team All-American by Stats Perform and third-team by the Associated Press following the 2022 season.
 
During his two seasons with the Bulldogs, Ismail appeared in 14 games and caught 16 passes for 156 yards after transferring from Villanova. 
 
Following an All-Ivy League performance at Penn, Starkey hauled in 27 passes for 204 yards in 11 games for Samford in 2023. 
 
FOLLOW THE BULLDOGS:
For the latest news and information on Samford football, visit the official website for Samford Athletics at SamfordSports.com. Fans can also follow the Bulldogs on social media at /SamfordFootball (Facebook), @SamfordFootball (Instagram) and @SamfordFootball (Twitter).