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Cleveland Browns rookie safety J.T. Hassell was born with only two fingers on his left hand and that has caused people to count him out since he was young.
Hassell played at a Division II school, Florida Tech, and grew up in a rough neighborhood in Florida. He is considered a longshot to make the roster, and it seems everything is stacked against him and none of that bothers him.
From Zac Jackson in The Athletic:
“It’s part of my story. I embrace that,” Hassell said via The Athletic. “Some people don’t believe me when I say this, but that’s never held me back. It hasn’t. And anytime someone acts like my hand holds me back I’m like ‘no’ because if I didn’t have that I wouldn’t be here right now. It made me the person I am today. It made me work twice as hard as everybody else.”
Hassell does think that it's a reason that some teams didn't look at him during the draft process and why he didn't get drafted, but he is just glad the Browns believed in him and gave him a shot.
“Going back to high school, even before, I always had people tell me I couldn’t play football with two fingers. I feel like some (NFL) teams weren’t taking me because of my hand. At the end of the day, the Browns believed in me. I’m so thankful for them. Like, even if I don’t make the team I’ve had this platform. I’ve had people write me every day to say, ‘Thank you, it’s so great to see you’ve made it this far, you give me hope.’ Things like that.
Hassell is known as a big hitter but he knows for any chance to make the team he needs to make his impressions on special teams. If he is strong on special teams he hopes that could be enough to make the roster, or maybe the practice squad and then climb up the ladder from there.
