By AMAURIS PERALTA MUÑOZ
It was an unusual route for any professional football player, but this one is one for the books. New England Patriots wide receiver Chris Hogan overcame it all.
Born and raised in the state of New Jersey, Chris Hogan was a star at Ramapo High School in multiple sports. Coming out of high school, Hogan had a decision to make. He was a first-team all-New Jersey player in lacrosse and first team performer in football his senior year. With different scouts knocking at his door offering division one opportunities for both sports, Hogan decided that playing lacrosse at Penn State University was his next route of his life.
Playing lacrosse for the next four years, the 6’2 athlete did not imagine himself as a professional football player. Being injured and having to redshirt his sophomore years, some would say was God’s calling for him to give football one more try in the near future. Hogan came back his junior and senior year and assisted Penn’s State lacrosse program to excel and become one of the best programs in the nation.
As a senior in college, ready to walk the field at graduation, and having one more year of eligibility, Hogan was not ready to give up his athletic career. With common connections, and reaching out to a team that recruited him in high school, a second chance was given. In the next season, with injuries surrounding his new football team at Monmouth University, Chris Hogan started as a corner back, and ran a few plays in offense and special teams.
Professional Career
As 2011 came around, Hogan hired an agent as he wanted to join the National Football League’s 2011 draft. His agent told him, it will be hard, but not impossible to turn this one year of football into a career. Going undrafted in the 2011 draft, he signed to the NFL as an undrafted free agent and his football dream was about to become a reality. The San Francisco 49ers picked up Hogan in July 2011, but he did not last long there. For the next few years, Chris Hogan would jump around to the New York Giants, Miami Dolphins, and landed a home in Buffalo as a wide receiver.
The social media team at Today’s Business, a full-service digital marketing agency, posted, “Chris Hogan is a very humble man, and when he comes in the office and asked about his route to the NFL, he says he doesn’t regret one decision.”
In 2016, Hogan began to make his name known around the league as he became a member of the New England Patriots. Assisting the team in the regular season, he was a big attribute to the team that eventually reached the Super Bowl. During the playoffs, Hogan obtained a franchise record by having the most yards receiving in a playoff game, 180 yards.
Winning his first championship as a professional football player at Super Bowl 51, Chris Hogan was just getting started with his career and was #notdone yet.
Nice write-up. It was built well with proper quotes and additional sources included as hyperlinks. I only had one complaint – the hash tag “not done” at the end of the story could use a description or removal. I haven’t heard of it before, and it feels a little out of place in the story. If it’s important to Hogan’s career, then explaining its significance could provide an understanding of it.