5 semi-relevant things about the Raiders’ Mr. Irrelevants

Editor’s note: This is part of an occasional series acquainting fans with the Raiders’ illustrious 60-year history as the team moves to Las Vegas for the 2020 season.

In 2008, five years after the Raiders selected him with the final pick of the NFL draft and forever bestowing him with the dubious title of “Mr. Irrelevant,” Ryan Hoag was a contestant on ABC’s reality show “The Bachelorette.”

During the debut episode he admitted to being a virgin.

The wide receiver from Gustavas Adolphus, an NCAA Division III school in Minnesota, was cut in training camp by the Raiders.

He was cut by the Bachelorette the week after admitting to being a virgin.

Here are five semirelevant things about the Raiders’ other Mr. Irrelevants:

■ Phil Nelson: The tight end from Delaware was the Raiders’ first Mr. Irrelevant in 1981. He caught a 5-yard touchdown pass in the Blue Hens’ 38-21 victory over Youngstown State in the 1980 NCAA Division II championship game in Albuquerque, New Mexico, aka the Zia Bowl.

■ Randy Essington: Despite Colorado winning only six games in Essington’s three years and finishing his career with a negative 327 rushing yards — or perhaps because of it — the Raiders selected the quarterback with the last pick in 1984. He was cut in training camp.

■ Demitrius Davis: The tight end who caught six passes for 135 yards and two touchdowns in UNR’s 45-7 victory over UNLV went on to become a star for the Barcelona Dragons in NFL Europe and played in front of 61,000 spectators at Wembley Stadium in a World Bowl loss to the London Monarchs. He died at age 46 in 2012 while playing pickup basketball.

■ Andre Sommersell: After being cut by the Raiders in 2004, the linebacker from Colorado State landed on the Colts’ practice squad and also played in the Canadian Football League and NFL Europe. Born in Guyana, he would coach in Dubai, where, he said in a 2014 interview, a lot of the players smoked cigarettes at halftime — just like the old Raiders.

■ Kevin McMahon: After the Raiders cut the wide receiver from Maine in 2006, he almost caught on with the New York Giants in 2007 before being cut after the last preseason game. The same thing happened with the Chiefs in 2008. In 2012, his 15-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter of Maine’s 2004 victory over Mississippi State — the school’s only win over a FBS team — was named the No. 1 football moment in Black Bears history.

Contact Ron Kantowski at rkantowski@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352. Follow @ronkantowski on Twitter.