Matthew Connor Hennessy (born November 17, 1997) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

for the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Temple Owls The Temple Owls are the college athletics, athletic teams that represent Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The current athletic director is Arthur Johnson (athletic director), Arthur Johnson. The owl has been the symbol and masco ...

Early life

Hennessy was born in

Nyack, New York Nyack () is a Village (New York), village primarily located in the Town (New York), town of Orangetown, New York, Orangetown in Rockland County, New York, United States. Incorporated in 1872, a small western section of the village lies in Clarkst ...

and grew up in

Bardonia, New York Bardonia is a hamlet and census-designated place in the town of Clarkstown, Rockland County, New York, United States. It is located northeast of Nanuet, northwest of West Nyack, south of New City, and west of Valley Cottage. The population wa ...

. He attended

Don Bosco Preparatory High School Don Bosco Preparatory High School (Don Bosco Prep) is a private, all-boys Catholic high school from ninth through twelfth grades. Founded in 1915 as a boarding school for Polish boys, by the Salesians of Don Bosco, a religious community of pr ...

Ramsey, New Jersey Ramsey is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a suburb of New York City, located northwest of Midtown Manhattan. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's ...

and was a starter at offensive tackle as a junior and senior for the Ironmen. A 3-star offensive tackle recruit according to

Rivals.com Rivals.com (stylized as ''rivals'') 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 found ...

, Hennessy committed to play

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

over offers from

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

, Florida Atlantic, Old Dominion, and

Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...

, among others.

College career

Hennessy played in three games with one start at left guard as a true freshman before redshirting the rest of the season. He became the Owls' starting center going into his redshirt freshman year, starting all but one game that he missed due to injury. Hennessy was awarded a single-digit jersey (number three) as one of the nine toughest players on the team going into his redshirt sophomore year, which he wore in practice as offensive line are not eligible to wear single digit numbers in-game. He started eleven games, missing two due to injury. Hennessy started 12 games at center for the Owls as a redshirt junior and was named first-team All-

American Athletic Conference The American Athletic Conference (AAC), also known as The American, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States, featuring 13 full member universities and 6 affiliate member universities that compete in t ...

, second-team

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

by ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

'' and to the third-team by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

and was named a finalist for the

Rimington Trophy The Dave Rimington Trophy is awarded to the player considered to be the best center in college football. Dave Rimington was a center who played at the University of Nebraska from 1979 to 1982. A member of the National College Football Awards ...

. Following the end of the season, Hennessy announced that he would forgo his final season of

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

eligibility to enter the

2020 NFL draft The 2020 NFL draft was the 85th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2020 NFL season. The first round was held on April 23, followed by the second and third rounds on April 24. The ...

. Having graduated in December of his redshirt junior year, Hennessy was invited to and played in the

2020 Senior Bowl The 2020 Senior Bowl was an all-star college football exhibition game played on January 25, 2020, at 1:30 p.m. CST, at Ladd–Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Alabama. The game featured prospects for the 2020 draft of the professional National Fo ...

Professional career

Atlanta Falcons (first stint)

Hennessy was selected by the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft with the 78th overall selection. After playing behind

Alex Mack Javon Alexander Mack (born November 19, 1985) is an American former professional football player who was a center in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the California Golden Bears and was selected by the Cleve ...

as a rookie, Hennessy was named the Falcons starting center in 2021 and started every game. He started Week 9 at left guard before suffering a knee injury. He was placed on injured reserve on November 8, 2022. He was activated on December 31 and he started the final two games of the season at left guard. In 2023, Hennessy suffered a knee injury in training camp and was placed on injured reserve on August 16, 2023.

Philadelphia Eagles

On March 13, 2024, Hennessy signed a one-year contract with the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

. He was released on August 27.

Atlanta Falcons (second stint)

On September 24, 2024, with starting center

Drew Dalman Drew Brazil Dalman (born October 15, 1998) is an American professional football center for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Stanford Cardinal. College career Dalman was ranked as a thr ...

going to injured reserve, the Falcons signed Hennessy to their practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on October 15. He was waived on November 14, and re-signed to the practice squad.

San Francisco 49ers

On December 26, 2024, Hennessy signed a two-year deal with the

off the Falcons practice squad.

Personal life

Hennessy's older brother, Thomas Hennessy, is the long snapper for the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

. Matt and his brother grew up

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

fans.

References

External links

San Francisco 49ers bioTemple Owls bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hennessy, Matt 1997 births Living people American football centers American football offensive guards Atlanta Falcons players Don Bosco Preparatory High School alumni People from Clarkstown, New York Players of American football from Rockland County, New York Temple Owls football players Philadelphia Eagles players San Francisco 49ers players