Justin Tyler "J. T." Hassell is a professional football player who plays safety in the NFL. He grew up in Titusville, Florida as a star football player at Titusville High School before transferring to Astronaut High School.
JT played college football at South Dakota State before transferring to Florida Tech University after his sophomore year. A standout player in college, JT earned several accolades at FIT. He was named GSC Defensive Player of the Year (2018), D2 All-American (2018), Second and First-team All-GSC (2017, 2018), respectively.
In 2019, JT signed his first NFL contract as an undrafted free agent with the Cleveland Browns and has since spent time with the New England Patriots, and the New York Jets. As a member of the New York Jets, JT blocked a punt versus the L.A. Rams on December 20, 2020 that proved to be the game winning play.
He recently formed the Hassell Foundation so he could do more to bring awareness to the importance of children's mental health. His passion for a healthy mental health, especially in kids, stems from his own experience with depression as a child. He was born with only two fingers on his left hand and became the target of bullies growing up. Yet through it all, he was able to get the help he needed, and battle through adversity to achieve his dream of playing in the NFL.
Now JT uses his platform to share his journey with schools, teams, organizations, and corporations. He believes that his story will inspire, motivate, and bring hope to others that will give them the strength to keep going.