Johnathan Hankins (born March 30, 1992) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

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

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). 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 ...

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

, where he received All-American honors, and was drafted by the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

in the second round of the

2013 NFL Draft The 2013 NFL Draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in ...

. He also played a season with the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

Early years

Hankins was born in

Dearborn Heights, Michigan Dearborn Heights is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. With a population of 63,292 at the 2020 census., Dearborn Heights is part of the Detroit metropolitan area, and is considered a bedroom community. History Dearborn Heig ...

. He began his

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

career as a 255-pound offensive guard in his freshman year. For his sophomore year he transferred to Southeastern High School, where he started on the defensive line. Five-star prospect

William Gholston William Gholston (born July 31, 1991) is an American football defensive end for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Michigan State, and was drafted by the Buccaneers in the fourth round o ...

transferred to Southeastern in 2008, creating the "best defense in Detroit", with Hankins shutting down the inside and Gholston patrolling on the edge. Hankins was regarded as a three-star recruit by

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

, and was listed as the No. 20 prospect from Michigan in the class of 2010. He intended to accompany Gholston to Michigan State, but did not get any offer from the Spartans. Hankins eventually picked Ohio State over offers from

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

, and

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

College career

Hankins enrolled in

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

, where he played for the

Ohio State Buckeyes football The Ohio State Buckeyes football team competes as part of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, representing Ohio State University in the East Division of the Big Ten Conference. Ohio State has played their home games at Ohio Stadium in ...

team from 2010 to 2012. As a

true freshman Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

, Hankins made the Buckeyes rotation and recorded 16 tackles (3 solo) plus a

quarterback sack In gridiron football, a sack occurs when the quarterback (or another offensive player acting as a passer) is tackled behind the line of scrimmage before throwing a forward pass, when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage in th ...

for the season. He weighed in as a freshman "at about 350, 355," and was regarded as only a two-down player by defensive coordinator

Jim Heacock Jim Heacock (born June 23, 1948) is a former American football coach. He served as the head football coach at Illinois State University from 1988 to 1995, compiling a record of 37–49–2. In 1996, he became an assistant coach at Ohio State Un ...

. By his sophomore year, Hankins managed to get his weight down to 330. He became a starter, registering 67 tackles (32 solo) and three sacks. Following his 2012 junior season, he was a first-team All-

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

selection, and received first-team All-American honors from Scout.com.

Professional career

Even though Hankins only entered his junior season in 2012, he was projected to leave Ohio State early. In preseason

mock draft Mock draft is a term used by sports websites and magazines in reference to a simulation of a sports league draft or fantasy sports league's draft. ESPN has run mock drafts on the front page of its website, allowing any visitor to vote towards a sp ...

s from May 2012, Hankins was listed as a mid first-rounder for the

. By mid-season, he had moved up to a top-10 spot. In December 2012, Hankins announced that he would forgo his final year of eligibility, entering the 2013 NFL Draft.

New York Giants

Hankins was drafted in the second round, 49th overall by the

in the

. After

Linval Joseph Linval Clement Joseph (born October 10, 1988) is an American football defensive tackle for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at East Carolina. He was drafted by the New York Giants in t ...

left the Giants for the Minnesota Vikings, Hankins was expected to step into his role in 2014. Known as a run stuffer, Hankins surprisingly showed flashes as a pass rusher recording 7 sacks, 6 QB hits and 21 hurries. Hankins exceeded expectations as he recorded 51 tackles, 7 sacks and a forced fumble and was named to Pro Football Focus' AllPro Team at Defensive Tackle. On November 8, 2015, Hankins tore his pectoral muscle during the second quarter of the week 9 game against the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

. He was placed on season-ending injured reserve on November 10, 2015. In the 2016 season, Hankins returned from his injury and recorded 3.0 sacks and 43 tackles. Hankins also made the playoffs for the first time in his career.

Indianapolis Colts

On April 13, 2017, Hankins signed a three-year, $30 million contract with the

. He started 15 games in 2017, recording 44 tackles and two sacks. On March 17, 2018, Hankins was released by the Colts.

Oakland / Las Vegas Raiders

On September 13, 2018, Hankins signed with the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

. He played in 15 games with 14 starts, recording 36 combined tackles and 2 fumble recoveries. On March 10, 2019, Hankins signed a two-year contract extension with the Raiders. Hankins was placed on the reserve/

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

list by the Raiders on November 18, 2020, and activated three days later. On March 20, 2021, the Raiders re-signed Hankins to a one-year, $3.5 million contract. Hankins re-signed with the Raiders on April 4, 2022.

Dallas Cowboys

On October 25, 2022, Hankins along with a 2024 seventh-round pick, was traded to the

in exchange for a 2023 sixth-round draft choice. He was placed on injured reserve on December 14.

References

External links

Indianapolis Colts bioNew York Giants bioLas Vegas Raiders bioA Model and NFL Player's Stunning Garden-Inspired Wedding in Ohio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hankins, Johnathan 1992 births Living people Southeastern High School (Michigan) alumni American football defensive tackles Players of American football from Detroit Ohio State Buckeyes football players New York Giants players Indianapolis Colts players Las Vegas Raiders players Oakland Raiders players Dallas Cowboys players