Leonard Hankerson Jr. (born January 30, 1989) 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 wi ...
wide receiver and coach who is the wide receivers coach for 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 ...
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 at the
University of Miami
The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, i ...
, and was drafted by the
Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
in the third round of the
2011 NFL Draft. Hankerson has also played for the
Atlanta Falcons,
New England Patriots, and
Buffalo Bills.
Early years
Hankerson attended
St. Thomas Aquinas High School in
Fort Lauderdale, Florida. As a junior, he had 28 receptions, 606 receiving yards, and 14
touchdowns
A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...
. In his senior year, he had 39 receptions, 803 receiving yards, and 14
touchdowns
A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...
.
Personal life
He has four children: Leonard III, Lenaris, Kienarria and Zara and is married to wife Kayla.
College career
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 ...
in 2007, Hankerson started two of seven games, and had six receptions for 63 yards and a touchdown. As a sophomore in 2008 he started two of eight games, making 11 receptions for 140 yards and two touchdowns. As a junior in 2009, he became a full-time starter. He started 12 of 13 games and finished the season with 45 receptions for 801 yards and six touchdowns. His Senior year he hauled in 72 catches for 1,156 yard and 13 touchdowns. The 13 touchdowns passed
Michael Irvin
Michael Jerome Irvin (born March 5, 1966) is an American sports commentator and former professional football wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). In 2007, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fa ...
for the most in a single season by a Hurricane. In the Senior Bowl, Hankerson stood out as the best receiver catching 5 passes for 100 yards and a touchdown.
Professional playing career
2011 NFL draft
Washington Redskins
2011 season
Hankerson was drafted by the
Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
in the third round of the
2011 NFL Draft. Hankerson made his NFL debut in Week 7 against the
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...
. In Week 9 against 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 ...
, he made his first career start.
His rookie season was cut short after suffering a subluxation of his right hip and a torn labrum in his second game as a starter against the
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...
.
On November 15, Hankerson was officially placed on injured reserve.
2012 season
After nearly three months of relying solely on physical therapy, it was confirmed that Hankerson had surgery on his hip on February 21, 2012. Hankerson was fully healed from the surgery and ready by the start of training camp in late July. In the preseason, he competed with and lost to
Josh Morgan
Joshua Lewis Morgan (born June 20, 1985) is a former American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the sixth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Virginia Tech. He also played for the Was ...
for the starting
flanker position. In Week 2 against the
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994.
The arr ...
, he recorded his first career touchdown after catching a 68-yard pass from
Robert Griffin III
Robert Lee Griffin III (born February 12, 1990), nicknamed RG3 and RGIII, is an American football quarterback who is a free agent. He played college football at Baylor, where he won the Heisman Trophy as a senior, and was selected second overa ...
. In the Week 15 win over the
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...
, he would score two touchdowns with one of them being a 54-yard touchdown pass while under triple coverage from
Kirk Cousins
Kirk Daniel Cousins (born August 19, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Michigan State and was drafted by the team then known as the Washington ...
.
2013 season
In the season opener against 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 play ...
, Hankerson scored two touchdowns. Originally behind Josh Morgan in the depth chart again, he was later made the second starting wide receiver opposite of
Pierre Garçon
Pierre Andre Garçon (; born August 8, 1986) is a former American Football wide receiver. He played college football at Norwich University and Mount Union College, and was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the sixth round of the 2008 NFL Dra ...
due to his improved performance. The Redskins placed him on injured reserve on November 21, 2013, after he tore his left
LCL and
ACL in the Week 11 game against 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 play ...
2014 season
Having spent all of training camp on the
PUP list, it was confirmed that Hankerson would remain by the start of the 2014 season on August 30, 2014. On November 4, the Redskins placed him on the active roster.
Atlanta Falcons
The
Atlanta Falcons signed Hankerson to a one-year deal on March 11, 2015. On December 4, 2015, Hankerson was placed on season-ending Injured Reserve due to his struggles with hamstring injuries. On December 15 he was released from
injured reserve, making him a
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 ...
.
New England Patriots
The
New England Patriots claimed Hankerson off waivers on December 16, 2015. Hankerson played in one game before being waived on December 26.
Buffalo Bills
2015 season
The
Buffalo Bills claimed Hankerson off waivers on December 28, 2015.
2016 season
On March 24, 2016, the Bills re-signed Hankerson on a one-year contract.
On August 15, 2016, Hankerson was released by the Bills, following a poor showing in the team's first preseason game in which he dropped most of the passes thrown at him.
Coaching career
UMass
Hankerson joined
Mark Whipple's UMass football staff as an offensive graduate assistant in July 2017 and earned a promotion into the role of wide receivers coach for the 2018-19 school year.
Stephen F. Austin State
Hankerson was the outside wide receivers coach for
Stephen F. Austin State University from 2019 through 2020.
San Francisco 49ers
On February 11, 2021, 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 ...
announced Hankerson's hiring as their new offensive quality control coach. This reunited him with head coach
Kyle Shanahan
Kyle Michael Shanahan (born December 14, 1979) is an American football coach who is the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He came to prominence as the offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons, wh ...
, who he played under when Shanahan was the offensive coordinator of the Redskins and Falcons. Hankerson was promoted to wide receivers coach in 2022.
References
External links
*
San Francisco 49ers bioMiami Hurricanes bio*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hankerson, Leonard
1989 births
Living people
American football wide receivers
Miami Hurricanes football players
Players of American football from Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Washington Redskins players
Atlanta Falcons players
New England Patriots players
Buffalo Bills players
St. Thomas Aquinas High School (Florida) alumni
San Francisco 49ers coaches