Vidal Hazelton (born January 29, 1988) is a former Gridiron football wide receiver. He was signed by the San Diego Chargers 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 2011. He played college football at

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

. He formerly played for the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

(USC)

football team A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an all-s ...

.Gary Klein
Vidal Hazelton to transfer from USC
''Los Angeles Times'', December 3, 2008, Accessed December 3, 2008.

Early years

As a junior in 2005 at Moore Catholic High School in Staten Island (N.Y.), he caught 39 passes for 784 yards (20.1 avg.) with 17 TDs, ran for 240 yards with 4 scores and posted 38 tackles, 3 sacks and 2 interceptions for TDs. He eventually transferred to

Hargrave Military Academy Hargrave Military Academy (HMA) is a private, all-male, military boarding school located in the town of Chatham, Virginia. Hargrave is affiliated with the Baptist General Association of Virginia emphasizing Christian values that focuses on a col ...

his senior year, where he had 41 receptions for 942 yards (23.0 avg.) with 13 TDs in 2005. Hazelton was invited to play in the 2006 U.S. Army All-American Bowl, a national all-star game for the best high school football players in the country.

Collegiate career

USC

Hazelton arrived at USC as one of the nation's best players and one of USC's biggest pickups of the recruiting season. Hazelton saw time in only two games his freshman season, as the Trojans ended up going 11–2 and winning the 2007 Rose Bowl against

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

32–18. Hazelton played backup to Dwayne Jarrett and

Steve Smith Stephen, Steve, Stevie, or Steven Smith may refer to: Academics * Steve Smith (political scientist) (born 1952), British international relations theorist and senior university manager * Stephen Smith (journalist) (born 1956), American journalist, ...

, two of the best receivers in the nation, and only accumulated one catch for eight yards. He also had a run for seven yards. Hazelton was expected to start the 2007 season for the Trojans, along with junior

Patrick Turner Patrick Steven Turner (born May 19, 1987) is a former American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the third round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He played college football at Southern California. He was also a member of the ...

, and in spring practice Hazelton impressed observers.Gary Klein
Booty is in his comfort zone
''Los Angeles Times'', March 28, 2007. He entered fall camp as the top starting flanker on the depth chart. Vidal made an outstanding one handed

touchdown 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 ...

catch against

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...

in USC's first game of the year. He finished the season as USC's leading wide receiver in 2007, catching 50 passes and scored four touchdowns. Hazelton's 2008 season with USC was not as successful. After catching five passes, he suffered a

high ankle sprain A high ankle sprain, also known as a syndesmotic ankle sprain (SAS), is a sprain of the syndesmotic ligaments that connect the tibia and fibula in the lower leg, thereby creating a mortise and tenon joint for the ankle. High ankle sprains are desc ...

in the season opener against

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. Once he recovered he found himself unable to climb back into the starting line-up. The arrival and rise of

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 O ...

-transfer Damian Williams, along with continued production by senior Patrick Turner and sophomore Ronald Johnson, pushed Hazelton into the role of a seldom used reserve. Further complicating matters, Hazelton's grandfather was diagnosed with

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

, and he desired to be geographically closer to him. On December 2, 2008, Hazelton asked for and was granted permission to transfer to another school. After leaving, Hazelton noted "USC is a great place. It's filled up with athletes. If somebody's not 100 percent they've got to pass them up. I would have done the same thing if I was the coaches at USC."Bill Koch
'High on Cincinnati'
''The Cincinnati Enquirer'', January 15, 2009, Accessed January 15, 2009. Although Hazelton was from New York, he lived most recently with his grandfather in Georgia.Brian Matthews
Hazelton In Depth on Transfer
, WeAreSC.com, December 2, 2008, Accessed December 3, 2008. By mid-January, Hazelton was leaning towards

Professional career

Cincinnati Bengals

After going undrafted in the 2011 NFL Draft, Hazelton was signed by the San Diego Chargers on July 26, 2011. He was waived by San Diego on August 30. He later signed with the Cincinnati Bengals practice squad on December 27, 2011. He was waived by the Cincinnati Bengals on August 31, 2012.

Tennessee Titans

Hazelton signed with the Tennessee Titans practice squad September 3, 2012.

New York Jets

The New York Jets signed Hazelton to a reserve/future contract on January 23, 2013. He was waived on August 7, 2013 after suffering an undisclosed leg injury. Hazelton was placed on the team's injured reserve list on August 8, 2013.

Toronto Argonauts

Hazelton signed with the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

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 ...

on Wednesday, March 18, 2015. In his first year in the CFL Hazelton played in 16 games for the Argos, and was suspended by the team for one game for accumulating too many objectionable conduct penalties. Hazelton contributed 70 pass receptions for 803 yards with 6 touchdowns in his rookie season. He was named the runner up for the CFL Rookie of the Year award for 2015, being edged out but wide receiver

Derel Walker Derel Walker (born June 29, 1991) is a Canadian football wide receiver for the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was named a CFL All-Star in 2015 and 2016 and received the CFL's Most Outstanding Rookie Award in 2015. He is ...

. Hazleton began the

2016 CFL season The 2016 CFL season was the 63rd season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it was the 59th Canadian Football League season. Toronto hosted the 104th Grey Cup on November 27. The regular season began on June 23 and ended on November 5. ...

as one of the Argo's primary wide receivers, and was the first Argonaut to score a touchdown at their new home stadium

BMO Field BMO Field is an outdoor stadium located at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which is home to Toronto FC of Major League Soccer and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. Constructed on the site of the former ...

. Hazleton played in 8 of the Argos first 14 games, missing 6 due to injury. Following a Week 15 loss the Argos front office decided to release four of their wide receivers on the same day including Vidal Hazelton. Reports out of the locker room suggest the four wide receivers were not committed to the Argos and had been a source of division in the locker room for some time. In 8 games for the Argos Hazleton caught 27 passes for 361 yards with 3 touchdowns.

Edmonton Eskimos

Hazleton signed with the Edmonton Eskimos (CFL) on October 18, 2016. He did not make an appearance for the Eskimos during the 2016 season. On January 16, 2017, Hazleton was re-signed by the Eskimos. In his first full season in Edmonton Hazelton caught 55 passes for 709 yards with four touchdowns (he caught eight passes for 125 yards in the team's two playoff games). On February 5, 2018, Hazleton was re-signed by the Eskimos to a one-year deal, the same day the team released veteran receiver Adarius Bowman.

References

External links

Toronto Argonauts bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hazelton, Vidal 1988 births American football wide receivers Canadian football wide receivers African-American players of American football African-American players of Canadian football Living people Moore Catholic High School alumni USC Trojans football players Sportspeople from Staten Island Players of American football from New York City San Diego Chargers players Cincinnati Bengals players Tennessee Titans players New York Jets players Boston Brawlers players Toronto Argonauts players Edmonton Elks players Canadian Football League Rookie of the Year Award winners Hargrave Military Academy alumni 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people