RELATED LINKS:
For more from the team, including exclusive videos, photos and written content, be sure to “like” the Redskins’ Official Facebook page.
Yes, that guy ascending towards the basket with the cornrows is Redskins defensive end Jason Hatcher. It must have been before his growth spurt, though the athleticism was still readily apparent.
Hatcher posted this throwback photo to his Instagram re-living his basketball playing days at Jena High School in Louisiana, where he lettered, and, on this particular night, scored 21 points to beat a local rival.
As a junior, he earned Class 3A All-State honorable mention honors, averaging 18.7 points and 11.5 rebounds per game mostly at the power forward and center positions.
"After my sophomore year, I quit the football team and simply focused on basketball,"Hatcher told the Town Talk in 2013. "I was averaging 20-something a game, and I thought that was going to be my ticket."
He got back into football, however, through a pact with the school's quarterback, Dayne Ashley. If Ashley played basketball that season, Hatcher would return to the gridiron. It was a wise promise.
His incredible senior season on the football field turned the heads of scouts.
That year he lettered as a wide receiver and tight end, earning All-State honors after catching 28 passes for 1,028 yards, later choosing to attend Grambling State for college.
In 2007, his hometown honored his achievements by labeling March 5 as “Jason Hatcher Day.” To celebrate, the high school hosted students, coaches and school officials into the gym to speak about his ascension into the NFL and retired his jersey (No. 21).
"When I go out there on Sundays," Hatcher said, "I'm not only playing for me and my family, I'm playing for everyone in this town."
.
.
.
