Ryan Hoag

Ryan Hoag was born on November 23, 1979 in Minneapolis, Minnesota and is a wide receiver for the Jacksonville Jaguars in the NFL. He was "Mr. Irrelevant" in the 2003 NFL Draft. Hoag was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in 2003, but was released on August 26, 2003.

College
He began his college career as a walk-on soccer player at Wake Forest University.

He attended Division III Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, MN. He left Gustavus with 144 receptions for 2,232 yards (15.5 average) and 29 TDs. He was the only Gustavus player with over 2,000 career receiving yards and was an All-MIAC 1st-team selection as a junior and senior as well as being named Gustavus Male Athlete of the Year as a senior. He caught 56 passes for 808 yards (14.4 avg.) and 10 touchdowns as a senior, and also returned 13 kickoffs for 397 yards (30.5 avg.). He set a school record with 13 catches for 175 yards, and achieving 313 total yards (175 receiving, 122 kickoff return, 4 punt return and 12 rushing). As a junior, Hoag pulled in 54 passes for 876 yards (16.2 avg.) and set a Gustavus record with 14 touchdowns. He also caught 34 passes for 548 yards (16.1 avg.) and 5 touchdowns as a sophomore.

He took 3rd at 2002 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the 100m with a time of 10.51 and 4th at the 2003 Indoor Championships in the 55m at 6.45.

Professional Career
Hoag signed to the New York Giants’ practice squad on November 19, 2003 and was released by New York on May 20, 2004.

Hoag was then signed by the Minnesota Vikings on June 24, 2004 and spent three weeks of the 2004 season on the active roster in Minnesota, and the other 14 on the practice squad before being released on September 3, 2005. He signed a third time on April 5, 2006 and was finally released by Minnesota on September 2, 2006.

Ryan was signed by the Washington Redskins to the practice squad on November 22, 2006 and released by Washington on November 28, 2006. Hoag re-signed to the Redskins’ practice squad on December 27, 2006 and was commissioned to the Berlin Thunder of the now defunct NFL Europa league where his playing opportunities were scarce.

In 2007, Hoag spent training camp with the Redskins. He was rumored to be a contender for the final 53-man roster, but was released on September 1 as part of the team's final roster cuts. Hoag is now too old to be a member of the practice squad.

On September 11, 2007, Hoag signed a practice roster agreement with the Edmonton Eskimos of Canadian Football League. On October 3, 2007 he was released from their practice squad.

In 2008, Ryan tried out for the Jacksonville Jaguars, but was not offered a roster spot.

On July 25, 2008 the Jacksonville Jaguars signed Ryan as an unrestricted free agent.

Personal
Hoag attended Washburn High School. Hoag lettered in football, track, soccer, and tennis at and was twice named all-conference and team captain in tennis, as well as an All-conference honoree in soccer. He grew up a Vikings fan despite not focusing on football as his main sport until college.

He was Mr. Irrelevant on ESPN during the 2004 draft coverage, passing the Mr. Irrelevant torch to LB Andre Sommersell of Colorado State, selected 255th by Oakland.

Hoag was a contestant on season four the ABC reality television dating show The Bachelorette, which premiered May 19. 2008. On the debut episode, he said he was virgin, explaining, "Christianity is first and foremost in my life. [...] I don't have sex. I'm not going to do that until I'm married. So I have wondered about DeAnna in terms of how she'll deal with the fact that I'm a virgin. I don't know how she'll deal with the fact that I hold faith as the number one thing in my life". On the May 26th episode, Hoag was eliminated when he did not receive a rose.