Center Matt Hennessy will remain a bird in the National Football League. However, he is switching from an Owl to a Falcon as Atlanta selected him 78th overall in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft on Friday.
Hennessy was a tackle in high school at New Jersey’s Don Bosco Prep. Once he began to wear the cherry & white, he transitioned to center, where he would become the captain of the offensive line by his redshirt junior year. In his four years with the Owls, Hennessy started in 38 games, missing only four to injury during that time.
In his final season, the star center finished the season as a finalist for the Rimington trophy, an award given to the nation’s top center. Although Hennessy didn’t win the award, he was still recognized as one of the three best centers in all of college football. Hennessy also earned All-American honors multiple times and first team honors in the AAC. And he also shined in the Senior Bowl, as well as the following combine, posting a 5.18 second 40 yard dash, a 30 inch vertical jump & a 110 inch broad jump.
Hennessy is now the 75th Owl to ever be drafted into the NFL joining the likes of Robby Anderson (Panthers), Haason Reddick (Cardinals), & Ryquell Armstead (Jaguars) as former Owls currently active in the league. Owls head coach Rod Carey was ecstatic about the news, “obviously we are super excited for Matt to be selected by Atlanta. He’s gonna be a good player in the league for a long time. He’s a class act of a kid. Great family and relentless football player.”
There are other Temple prospects waiting to be selected in day 3 of the 2020 NFL Draft, including OLB Shaun Bradley, OLB Chapelle Russell, and S Harrison Hand.
From all of us at Temple Update, congratulations to Matt for his achievements as an Owl, and good luck in Atlanta!
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