Joselio Basilio Hanson (born August 13, 1981) is a former
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 ...
cornerback
A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...
. He began his professional career by signing with the
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
as an
undrafted free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...
in 2003, and has also spent one year of his career in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
with the
Frankfurt Galaxy Two American football franchises have been referred to as the Frankfurt Galaxy:
* Frankfurt Galaxy (NFL Europe), active in NFL Europe between 1991 and 2007
* Frankfurt Galaxy (ELF)
The Frankfurt Galaxy is an American football team in Frankfurt, ...
. He has played for the
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...
for six seasons starting in 2006.
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 ...
at
Texas Tech
Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...
after transferring from
El Camino Junior College
El Camino College (Elco or ECC) is a two-year public community college located in the unincorporated area of Los Angeles County known as Alondra Park.St. Bernard High School in California and was a
letterman
Letterman may refer to:
* Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States
People
* David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host
** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...
in
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
. After not even starting as a
junior
Junior or Juniors may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
* ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959
* ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009
* ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010
* ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019
Films
* ''Junior'' (1994 ...
, he helped lead his team to the state finals as a
senior
Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to:
* Senior (name), a surname ...
.
College career
Hanson first 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 ...
at
El Camino Junior College
El Camino College (Elco or ECC) is a two-year public community college located in the unincorporated area of Los Angeles County known as Alondra Park.Texas Tech
Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...
for his final two years. He also received interest from
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
and
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...
. At
Texas Tech
Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...
, he majored in human development and family studies.
Professional career
San Francisco 49ers
After not being selected in the
2003 NFL Draft
The 2003 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League (NFL) teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936 NF ...
, Hanson was signed by the
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
as an
undrafted free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...
. He did not make the final roster as a rookie, but was retained on the team's
practice squad
In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...
through the regular season. In
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
he made the active roster and went on to play in 13 games that year, starting three of them. He registered 18 solo tackles, two assists, six pass deflections and a sack.
Hanson remained a member of the 49ers through the 2005 offseason, but was cut prior to the beginning of the regular season.
Frankfurt Galaxy
After his release from the 49ers, Hanson was not picked up by another NFL team and chose to spend a season in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
with the
Frankfurt Galaxy Two American football franchises have been referred to as the Frankfurt Galaxy:
* Frankfurt Galaxy (NFL Europe), active in NFL Europe between 1991 and 2007
* Frankfurt Galaxy (ELF)
The Frankfurt Galaxy is an American football team in Frankfurt, ...
, after they drafted him in the 6th round of the league's free agent draft. The Galaxy won the league championship in his first and only year with the team.
Philadelphia Eagles
In
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
, shortly after the conclusion of the NFL Europe season, Hanson was signed to a two-year contract by the
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...
. That season, Hanson played in all sixteen games for Philadelphia, starting one, garnering 26 solo tackles, nine assists, and thirteen pass deflections. In 2007 season, he again played in all sixteen games, starting four, and made 45 solo tackles and seven assists, along with a sack and a fumble recovery. This earned him a one-year contract for the 2008 season.
Hanson's number was changed from 22 to 21 during the 2008 offseason, due to
Asante Samuel
Asante T. Samuel Sr. (born January 6, 1981) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL). He was born in Accra, Ghana and raised in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He played college fo ...
signing with the team. On the
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden and ...
night game against the
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...
, Hanson started in place of an injured Samuel and recorded his first career interception. In week 17 against the Dallas Cowboys, he returned a fumble 97 yards for his first career touchdown, as part of a victory that sent the Eagles to the playoffs.
On February 20, 2009, Hanson agreed to a five-year contract with the Eagles, worth $21 million. He was scheduled to become an
unrestricted free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...
the following week.
On November 11, 2009 it was announced that Hanson was to be suspended for the next four games of the season due to failing a drug test before the NFC Championship the previous season. On December 7, Hanson had his suspension lifted, and was able to play on the active roster for the remainder of the season.
Hanson was released on September 3, 2011, during final roster cuts. Hanson was re-signed to a two-year contract by the Eagles on September 7, 2011.
He was released again during final roster cuts on August 31, 2012.
Oakland Raiders
Hanson was signed by
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 ...
on September 3, 2012. On August 27, 2013, he was placed on the injured reserve list. On August 31, 2013, he was waived with an injury settlement.