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J. T. Hassell

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J. T. Hassell
refer to caption
Hassel with the Cleveland Browns in 2019
Personal information
Born: (1995-08-14) August 14, 1995 (age 29)
Titusville, Florida, U.S.
Height:5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight:200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
High school:Astronaut
(Titusville, Florida)
College:Florida Tech
Position:Defensive back
Undrafted:2019
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
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
Total tackles:8
Stats at Pro Football Reference
Stats at CFL.ca

Justin Tyler "J. T." Hassell (born August 14, 1995) is an American professional football defensive back who is a free agent. Hassell played college football at Florida Tech. He has been a member of the Cleveland Browns, New England Patriots, New York Jets, Winnipeg Blue Bombers, and Toronto Argonauts

Early life

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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

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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 to 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

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Cleveland Browns

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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

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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

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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]

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

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Hasell signed with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the Canadian Football League (CFL) on September 6, 2022.[16] He was released by the team on October 12, 2022.[17] Hasell played in four games, recording two special teams tackles.

Toronto Argonauts

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On January 4, 2023, it was announced that Hassell had been signed by the Toronto Argonauts.[18] He was moved to the practice roster on June 3, and placed on the reserve/suspended list on July 24, 2023.[19]

References

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  1. ^ 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.
  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. Archived from the original on September 5, 2020. Retrieved 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.
  15. ^ Lange, Randy; Greenberg, Ethan (August 31, 2021). "Jets Remove 27 Players from Roster to Reach 53-Man Limit". NewYorkJets.com. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
  16. ^ "Blue Bombers sign American DB J.T. Hassell". CFL.ca. September 6, 2022. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  17. ^ 3Down Staff (October 12, 2022). "Winnipeg Blue Bombers release defensive back J. T. Hassell". 3DownNation. Retrieved October 12, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  18. ^ "Double blue sign three Americans". Toronto Argonauts. January 4, 2023.
  19. ^ "J.T. Hassell". Footballdb.com. Retrieved August 14, 2024.
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