J. T. Hassell
Free agent | |||||||||
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Position: | Safety | ||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||
Born: | Titusville, Florida | August 14, 1995||||||||
Height: | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||||||||
Weight: | 200 lb (91 kg) | ||||||||
Career information | |||||||||
High school: | Astronaut Titusville, Florida | ||||||||
College: | Florida Tech | ||||||||
Undrafted: | 2019 | ||||||||
Career history | |||||||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2020 | |||||||||
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Player stats at NFL.com |
Justin Tyler "J. T." Hassell (born August 14, 1995) is an American football safety who is a free agent. He played college football at Florida Tech.
Early life and high school[]
Hassell was born with only two fingers on his left hand due to a deformity. He grew up in Titusville, Florida and attended Titusville High School before transferring to Astronaut High School.[1]
College career[]
Hassell began his collegiate career at South Dakota State. He started all 14 of the Jackrabbits games at linebacker as a true freshman and recorded 41 tackles, four tackles for loss, a sack and an interception.[2] Hassell played in 12 games as a sophomore with 21 tackles. Following the end of the season, he decided to transfer to the Division II Florida Institute of Technology in order to be closer to his family.[3]
After sitting out a year due NCAA transfer rules, Hassell led the Panthers and finished fifth in the Gulf South Conference (GSC) with 78 tackles and was named second team all-conference as a redshirt junior. As a redshirt senior, he made 124 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks for 34 yards and three forced fumbles and was named first team All-GSC and the conference Defensive Player of the Year, as well as a first team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association and the D2CCA, and a second-team All-American by the Associated Press.[4]
Professional career[]
Cleveland Browns[]
Hassell signed with the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent on May 3, 2019.[5] He was waived at the end of final roster cuts, but was re-signed to the Browns' practice squad on September 1, 2019.[6] Hassell was promoted to the Browns' active roster on November 20, 2019.[7] He made his NFL debut on November 24, 2019 against the Miami Dolphins, playing nine snaps on special teams and making two tackles in a 41-24 win while also becoming the first Florida Tech player to appear in an NFL regular season game.[8][1] In his rookie season Hassell played in four games with seven tackles.[9]
Hassell was waived by the Browns on September 3, 2020.[10]
New England Patriots[]
On November 30, 2020, Hassell was signed to the New England Patriots practice squad.[11] He was released on December 8.[12]
New York Jets[]
On December 11, 2020, Hassell was signed to the New York Jets' active roster.[13] Against the Los Angeles Rams on December 20, 2020, he blocked a punt in the second quarter of the game.[14]
On August 31, 2021, Hassell was waived by the Jets.[15]
References[]
- ^ a b Grossman, Hilliard (November 29, 2019). "First Florida Tech player in NFL brings mom to tears after beating odds". Florida Today. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
- ^ "1ST AND GOAL ? JACKRABBIT LINEBACKERS". GoJacks.com. April 2, 2015. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
- ^ Cabot, Mary Kay (June 19, 2019). "Rookie J.T. Hassell overcomes only two fingers on his left hand to sign with the Browns and inspire others". Cleveland.com. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
- ^ Zlotorzynski, Alan (May 8, 2019). "Panther MVP JT Hassell Named to Four All-American Teams, All Gulf South Conference". SpaceCoastDaily.com. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
- ^ Axelrod, Ben (May 3, 2019). "Cleveland Browns sign 15 undrafted free agents, including multiple local products". WKYC.com.
- ^ Risdon, Jeff (September 1, 2019). "Introducing the Cleveland Browns initial 2019 practice squad". Browns Wire. USA Today.
- ^ Williams, Charean. "Browns promote J.T. Hassell from practice squad". Profootballtalk.com. NBC Sports. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
- ^ Gribble, Andrew (November 25, 2019). "Snap Count Review: How did Browns D-Line handle its 1st test without 3 starters?". ClevelandBrowns.com. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
- ^ Gribble, Andrew (March 9, 2020). "2020 Browns free agency: Safety class offers wide variety of options". ClevelandBrowns.com. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
- ^ "Browns release 4 players". ClevelandBrowns.com. September 3, 2020.
- ^ "Patriots Sign DB J.T. Hassell and OL Ross Reynolds to the Practice Squad". Patriots.com. November 30, 2020.
- ^ Thomas, Oliver (December 8, 2020). "Patriots release safety J.T. Hassell from practice squad". PatsPulpit.com. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
- ^ Greenberg, Ethan (December 11, 2020). "Jets Sign S J.T. Hassell". NewYorkJets.com.
- ^ DaSilva, Cameron (December 20, 2020). "8 biggest plays that cost the Rams in their loss to the Jets". Yahoo.com. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
- ^ "Jets Remove 27 Players from Roster to Reach 53-Man Limit". NewYorkJets.com. August 31, 2021.
External links[]
- 1995 births
- Living people
- Astronaut High School alumni
- Cleveland Browns players
- Florida Tech Panthers football players
- New England Patriots players
- New York Jets players
- People from Titusville, Florida
- Players of American football from Florida
- South Dakota State Jackrabbits football players
- Titusville High School alumni