Justise Hairston (born June 27, 1983) 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 ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

. He was selected by the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

in the sixth round of the 2007 NFL Draft. 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 ...

Central Connecticut State University Central Connecticut State University (Central Connecticut, CCSU, Central Connecticut State, or informally Central) is a public university in New Britain, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1849 as the State Normal School, CCSU is Connecticut ...

(CCSU).

College career

Hairston attended

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

for three seasons. He was a backup for the Scarlet Knights while playing there before transferring to CCSU. With CCSU in 2006, Hairston set a school record for the most rushing yards in a season with over 1,800. He was also the second player from CCSU ever drafted by an NFL team.

Awards and honors

* ECAC All-Star (2006) * AFCA I-AA

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n (2006) * Third-team '' AP'' All-American (2006) *

Walter Payton Award The Walter Payton Award is awarded annually to the most outstanding offensive player in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) of college football as chosen by a nationwide panel of media and college sports ...

finalist (2006)

Professional career

New England Patriots

Hairston was drafted by the New England Patriots in the sixth round (208th overall) of the 2007 NFL Draft. On August 1, 2007, Hairston was waived/injured by the Patriots, cleared waivers, and was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

. He reached an injury settlement with the team and was released on September 11.

Indianapolis Colts

On October 4, 2007, Hairston was signed to the practice squad of 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 ...

. Later in October he was released by the Colts. He was re-signed by the Colts after the season but was waived again by the team on June 16, 2008.

Buffalo Bills

Hairston was signed by the

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

on June 8, 2009. On July 29, 2009, he was waived by the Bills.

References

External links

Buffalo Bills bioIndianapolis Colts bioNew England Patriots bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hairston, Justise 1983 births Living people American football running backs Rutgers Scarlet Knights football players Central Connecticut Blue Devils football players New England Patriots players Indianapolis Colts players Buffalo Bills players Sportspeople from New Britain, Connecticut Players of American football from Hartford County, Connecticut