J. T. Hassell

Justin Tyler "J. T." Hassell (born August 14, 1995) is an American football safety for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Florida Tech.

J. T. Hassell
Hassel with Browns in 2019
No. 49 – New York Jets
Position:Safety
Personal information
Born: (1995-08-14) 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
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
  • GSC Defensive Player of the Year (2018)
  • Division II All-American (2018)
  • First-team All-GSC (2018)
  • Second-team All-GSC (2017)
Career NFL statistics as of 2019
Total tackles:7
Sacks:0
Pass deflections:0
Interceptions:0
Player stats at NFL.com

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]

References
  1. Grossman, Hilliard (November 29, 2019). "First Florida Tech player in NFL brings mom to tears after beating odds". Florida Today. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
  2. "1ST AND GOAL ? JACKRABBIT LINEBACKERS". GoJacks.com. April 2, 2015. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. Axelrod, Ben (May 3, 2019). "Cleveland Browns sign 15 undrafted free agents, including multiple local products". WKYC.com.
  6. Risdon, Jeff (September 1, 2019). "Introducing the Cleveland Browns initial 2019 practice squad". Browns Wire. USA Today.
  7. Williams, Charean. "Browns promote J.T. Hassell from practice squad". Profootballtalk.com. NBC Sports. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  8. 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.
  9. Gribble, Andrew (March 9, 2020). "2020 Browns free agency: Safety class offers wide variety of options". ClevelandBrowns.com. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  10. "Browns release 4 players". ClevelandBrowns.com. September 3, 2020.
  11. "Patriots Sign DB J.T. Hassell and OL Ross Reynolds to the Practice Squad". Patriots.com. November 30, 2020.
  12. Thomas, Oliver (December 8, 2020). "Patriots release safety J.T. Hassell from practice squad". PatsPulpit.com. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
  13. Greenberg, Ethan (December 11, 2020). "Jets Sign S J.T. Hassell". NewYorkJets.com.
  14. DaSilva, Cameron (December 20, 2020). "8 biggest plays that cost the Rams in their loss to the Jets". Yahoo.com. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
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