Matt Hazel (born January 23, 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 ...

wide receiver for the Lazio Ducks of the

Italian Football League Italian Football League (IFL) is the top level American football league in Italy established in 1980. History In the 1970's teams formed and played in Italy. In 1980 the first official American football league in Italy was established and crow ...

. 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 ...

Coastal Carolina University Coastal Carolina University (CCU or Coastal) is a public university in Conway, South Carolina. Founded in 1954 as Coastal Carolina Junior College, and later joining the University of South Carolina System as USC Coastal Carolina, it became an in ...

. He was drafted by 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 pla ...

in the sixth round of the

2014 NFL Draft The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New Y ...

High school career

A native of

North Augusta, South Carolina North Augusta is a city in Aiken and Edgefield counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina, on the north bank of the Savannah River. The population was 21,348 at the 2010 census. The city is included in the Central Savannah River Area (CSRA) ...

, Hazel attended

North Augusta High School North Augusta High School is a four-year public high school located in North Augusta, South Carolina. Approximately 1,500 students attend the school. The school offers over thirty student organizations. North Augusta is an AP Magnet School and i ...

where he recorded 75 catches, 1,193 receiving yards, and 18 touchdowns as a senior while leading North Augusta to the second round of the playoffs. He was rated a two-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 ...

''.

College career

Hazel attended

from 2010 to 2013, where he was a member of the

Coastal Carolina Chanticleers football The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers football team represents Coastal Carolina University in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. The Chanticleers are members of the Sun Belt Conference, fielding its teams at th ...

team. As a true freshman in 2010, he played 11 games (three starts) and caught 20 balls for 276 yards and five touchdowns. In 2011, he started 9 of 11 games, with 32 catches for 488 yards and six touchdowns. He started all 13 games in 2012 and posted 61 catches for 799 yards and eight touchdowns, and was named a first-team All-

Big South The Big South Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I. Originally a non-football conference, the Big South began sponsoring football in 2002 as part of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). Th ...

selection. He started all 14 games in 2013, producing 70 catches for 990 yards and nine touchdowns, earning first-team All-Big South honors for the second year in a row. He set several Coastal Carolina career and single-season records. His 183 career receptions, and 70 receptions in 2013, are both CCU records. His 2,553 career receiving yards and 28 career receiving touchdowns are both second in CCU history. He was the third player in school history to participate in the East-West Shrine Game, joining

Jerome Simpson Jerome Louis Simpson (born February 4, 1986) is a former American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He has also played for the Minnesota Vikings and San Francisco 49ers. S ...

and

Josh Norman Joshua Ricardo Norman (born December 15, 1987) is an American football cornerback who is a free agent. He played college football at Coastal Carolina and was drafted by the Panthers in the fifth round of the 2012 NFL Draft, and has also played f ...

Professional career

Miami Dolphins

Hazel was drafted by the

in the sixth round (190th overall) of the

. He was waived by the Dolphins on August 30, 2014 and was signed to the practice squad the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on December 20, 2014. On August 27, 2016, Hazel was waived by the Dolphins.

Buffalo Bills

On September 5, 2016, Hazel was signed to 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. ...

' practice squad. He was released by the team on October 4, 2016.

Washington Redskins

On October 25, 2016, Hazel was signed to 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 ...

' practice squad. He signed a futures contract with the Redskins on January 2, 2017. On September 2, 2017, Hazel was waived by the Redskins.

Indianapolis Colts

Hazel was claimed off waivers by 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 ...

on September 3, 2017. He was waived on September 16, 2017 but was re-signed two days later. He was waived again on September 25, 2017 and re-signed to the practice squad. He was promoted back to the active roster on November 9, 2017. He was waived again on November 28, 2017 and re-signed to the practice squad on December 11.

Cleveland Browns

On December 13, 2017, Hazel was signed by 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 ( ...

off the Colts' practice squad. On April 16, 2018, Hazel signed his restricted free-agent tender with the Browns for the 2018 season. Hazel was waived by the Browns on April 30, 2018.

Indianapolis Colts (second stint)

On August 12, 2018, Hazel was signed by the

. He was waived/injured on August 23, 2018 and placed on injured reserve. He was released on September 11, 2018.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

On May 21, 2019, Hazel signed with the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fiel ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

Lazio Ducks

In 2021, Hazel signed with the Lazio Ducks of the

in Rome, Italy. Hazel had 67 receptions for 977 yards and 10 touchdowns on the season for the Ducks. Hazel resigned with the Ducks for the 2022 season.

References

External links

Coastal Carolina Chanticleers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hazel, Matt 1992 births Living people African-American players of American football American football wide receivers Buffalo Bills players Cleveland Browns players Coastal Carolina Chanticleers football players Indianapolis Colts players Miami Dolphins players People from North Augusta, South Carolina Players of American football from South Carolina Washington Redskins players 21st-century African-American sportspeople American expatriate players of American football American expatriate sportspeople in Italy