Dewayne Hendrix (born June 13, 1995) is a professional

gridiron football Gridiron football,"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Ret ...

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for the Pittsburgh Panthers.

Early years

Hendrix attended O'Fallon Township High School. In his senior season, he had 60 tackles and was named a Semper Fidelis All-American. A four-star recruit, Hendrix was rated as the No. 5 strongside defensive end, the No. 3 player in Illinois, and the No. 78 overall recruit by Rivals.com. He received 22 scholarship offers, including

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

, Illinois and seven other Big Ten schools but committed to Tennessee.

College career

Hendrix played seven games as a true freshman at Tennessee and had two tackles. In December, he announced he was transferring from the program in search of a "better opportunity." He decided to transfer to Pittsburgh on April 27, 2015, turning down offers from Illinois,

Iowa State Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...

and Northern Illinois. He lost his sophomore season to injury after hurting his foot in the Week 1 game against Villanova. In 2017, Hendrix played in 11 games and had 21 tackles including five for a loss. As a senior in 2018, he recorded 29 tackles including five for a loss and had 4.5 sacks. In his career at Pittsburgh, Hendrix played in 25 games and made 50 tackles, including 10 for a loss, 7.5 sacks and two fumble recoveries.

Professional career

Miami Dolphins

After going undrafted in the

2019 NFL draft The 2019 NFL Draft was the 84th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2019 NFL season. The draft was held on April 25–27 in Nashville, Tennessee. The first round was held on April 2 ...

, Hendrix was signed by the Miami Dolphins on April 29. He participated in the preseason, and had two sacks against the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

and one sack versus the New Orleans Saints. He was waived on August 31. Hendrix was subsequently signed to the Dolphins' practice squad, but was waived on October 7.

Chicago Bears

On November 19, the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

signed Hendrix to their practice squad. He was waived by the Bears on December 9.

Jacksonville Jaguars

On December 18, Hendrix was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars to their practice squad.

St. Louis BattleHawks

Hendrix joined the

St. Louis BattleHawks The St. Louis BattleHawks are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. The team was founded by Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment and is an owned-and-operated member of the new XFL owned by Dwayne Johnson’s Alpha A ...

of the XFL. In five games with the BattleHawks, Hendrix had four tackles, one sack and a quarterback hurry. He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.

Pittsburgh Steelers

On March 30, 2020, Hendrix signed with the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

. He was waived on August 2, 2020.

The Spring League

Hendrix had a tryout with the Cleveland Browns on August 19, 2020. He signed with the Alphas of The Spring League for the 2020 Fall season.

Toronto Argonauts

On February 12, 2021, Hendrix signed with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. In his first year with the Argonauts, he played in six regular season games, starting in five, where he recorded nine defensive tackles and one sack. In

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

, Hendrix became a full time starter as he played and started in 17 regular season games where he had 33 defensive tackles, including five tackles for a loss, two pass knockdowns, and one sack. He made his post-season debut in the East Final against the Montreal Alouettes where he had six defensive tackles and one sack. He then played in his first

Grey Cup The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested be ...

game where he had one defensive tackle, one sack, and one forced fumble as the Argonauts defeated the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the

109th Grey Cup The 109th Grey Cup decided the Canadian Football League (CFL) championship for the 2022 season. The game was played on November 20, at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, Saskatchewan. It marked the fourth Grey Cup game to be held in Regina, and the first ...

championship.

References

External links

Toronto Argonauts bio

Pittsburgh Panthers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hendrix, Dewayne 1995 births Living people American football defensive ends Players of American football from Illinois Sportspeople from St. Clair County, Illinois Pittsburgh Panthers football players Tennessee Volunteers football players St. Louis BattleHawks players Pittsburgh Steelers players The Spring League players Toronto Argonauts players