DeAndre James "D. J." Hackett (born July 3, 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 wi ...

wide receiver. He was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the fifth round of the

2004 NFL Draft The 2004 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 24–25, 2004 at the Theater at ...

. He played college football at

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

. Hackett has also played for 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. ...

and

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 ...

Early years

DJ Hackett attended grades first through eighth at Pomona First Baptist private school in Pomona California. Hackett attended

San Dimas High School San Dimas High School is a secondary school located in San Dimas, California, in the United States. It is part of the Bonita Unified School District. Most of the students come from Lone Hill Middle School which shares the same city block as th ...

San Dimas, California San Dimas ( Spanish for "Saint Dismas") is a city in the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 2020 census, its population was 34,924. It historically took its name from San Dimas Canyon in the San Gabriel ...

and was a letterman in football,

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

, and track. In football, as a senior, he won All-Valley Vista League] honors, All- California Interscholastic Federation, CIF honors, and All-

Inland Valley The Inland Empire (IE) is a metropolitan area and region inland of and adjacent to coastal Southern California, centering around the cities of San Bernardino and Riverside, and bordering Los Angeles County to the west. It includes the cities ...

honors, and was named to the

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

All-Star team. Hackett graduated from San Dimas High School in 1999 with a 3.5 grade point average.

College career

Cal State Northridge

In his freshman year at Cal State Northridge, Hackett appeared in 10 of the Matadors' 11 games. He finished the season with 47 receptions for 728 yards and 7 touchdowns, finishing 2nd on the team in all three categories. As a sophomore, Hackett again finished 2nd on the team in receptions (53) and yards (778), and was tied for the team lead in touchdowns (10).

Colorado

When Cal State Northridge dropped its football program at the end of the 2001 season, Hackett transferred to the University of Colorado the following year, appearing in 12 of the team's 13 games. In 2003 Hackett led all Buffaloes receivers with 1,013 receiving yards and 78 total receptions, scoring 7 touchdowns.

Professional career

Seattle Seahawks

Hackett was drafted in the fifth round of the

by the Seattle Seahawks. Hackett was one of Matt Hasselbecks favorite targets. He played four seasons with the team before becoming 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 ...

Carolina Panthers

On March 17, 2008, Hackett signed a two-year, $3.5 million contract with the

. He was released after one season with the team on February 25, 2009.

Washington Redskins

Hackett was signed by the

on August 5, 2009 after the team waived/injured Roydell Williams. On December 5, 2009, he was released.

Personal life

After his time in the NFL, Hackett has lived in Arizona with his family, and started a

vending A vending machine is an automated machine that provides items such as snacks, beverages, cigarettes, and lottery tickets to consumers after cash, a credit card, or other forms of payment are inserted into the machine or otherwise made. The fir ...

company which provides all-natural and organic foods to schools to help with school nutrition. Hackett appeared on the game show

Family Feud ''Family Feud'' is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson. It features two families who compete to name the most popular answers to survey questions in order to win cash and prizes. The show has had three separate runs, th ...

with his family in April of 2014. The Hackett family did not win the episode.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hackett, D. J. 1981 births Living people Players of American football from California People from Fontana, California American football wide receivers Cal State Northridge Matadors football players Colorado Buffaloes football players Seattle Seahawks players Sportspeople from Los Angeles County, California Sportspeople from San Bernardino County, California Carolina Panthers players Washington Redskins players People from San Dimas, California