“ It is like God is writing the most beautiful story, and I am the main character in it. It is just crazy as I look back on everything."
“ It is like God is writing the most beautiful story, and I am the main character in it. It is just crazy as I look back on everything."
Reddick’ s knee eventually got better. However, he still wanted to play college football. Coming off another injury, though, he was not recruited and did not receive a scholarship offer. His parents were going to do everything they could to make sure he still attended college.
“ My mother is the reason why I was even in school,” he adds.“ I did not think I could play football without a scholarship, and my mother was the one who told me I was going to go to school to get an education. My father was finding out how I could get on a team. He looked at the staff to see who my coaches would be.“
Haason was able to get a look from former Temple defensive back coach Francis Brown, who got Reddick on the team as a preferred walk-on as a cornerback. He made the team and was redshirted his first year. Then in 2013, a new coach took over at Temple. Reddick’ s speed and athleticism caught the eye of the coaches, and Temple head coach Matt Rhule, who is now leading the Baylor Bears. Rhule saw something in Reddick and moved him to a different position.
“ Once Coach Rhule had gotten the coaching job, I moved to linebacker. By the end of the 2013 season, I had transitioned to defensive end. For the rest of my time there I played defensive end. You do not have too many guys going from corner, to linebacker to then defensive end. It’ s just not natural. It’ s hard to imagine. I just wanted to do whatever I could to stay on the field. I wanted to play football wherever they put me at.”
As a 6-foot-1, 225-pound defensive end, Reddick tallied 2.5 sacks his first two seasons at the position. As a redshirt junior, he became a starting defensive end and had five sacks and 12.5 tackles for a loss that season. Then during his redshirt senior season, he took his play to a new level. He was disruptive as a pass rusher and helped with the run defense. His 10.5 sacks
Hasson Reddick at Pro day
and 22.5 tackles for a loss helped earn him first team All-AAC honors. He also was invited to participate in the Senior Bowl.
“ It was fun,” Reddick says about the event.“ It was one big job interview meeting with all those different teams and getting to meet the players. Anyone who is invited is considered one of the best in the country, so I got to meet good players, and I got to meet a lot of teams.
Reddick, who had the chance to speak to all 32 teams in the league, excelled in individual drills and the game. During the practices, he was practicing at both the outside and inside linebacker positions. Being that Reddick has played different positions in the past, it did not affect him.
“ I do not have a preference. I feel like playing outside linebacker is more natural for me because I played defensive end in college for three years and outside linebacker in the league is similar to the defensive end-type player in college. However, I can learn quickly so I would be okay with inside linebacker.”
Coach & Player Magazine • Spring 2017 11