Armon Merrell Hatcher (born July 15, 1976) 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 with ...
defensive back
In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...
who played one season for the
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...
of the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL). He played college football at
Oregon State.
Early life and education
Armon Hatcher was born on July 15, 1976, in
Diamond Bar, California. He went to high school there before playing college football at
Oregon State University
Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering co ...
. He spent five years there, redshirting his first year and
lettering as a safety the next four seasons. He played in all 44 games over four seasons, making 222 tackles and 13 interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown.
His 13 interceptions ranked 2nd in Oregon State history.
[ ] In addition to playing defense, he was the team's kick returner, leading the
PAC-10
The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...
conference for returns in 1996.
He received a bachelor's degree in business administration in 1999.
Professional career
Hatcher was selected by the
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...
as the 194th pick in the sixth round of the
1999 NFL Draft
The 1999 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 17–18, 1999, at the Theater at M ...
. Even though he played
strong safety
Safety is a position in gridiron football on the defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two variations of the position: the free safety and the strong safety. Their dut ...
in all four of his college seasons, he was converted to
free safety
Safety is a position in gridiron football on the defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two variations of the position: the free safety and the strong safety. Their dut ...
upon joining the Bills.
He was released at roster cuts.
He was signed by the
BC Lions 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 ...
(CFL) on June 16, 2000. He was released a week later.
Later in the year he was signed by the
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...
. He spent most of the season on the practice squad, but did play in four games. In the first game, a 17–16 win over the
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division.
The tea ...
, Hatcher recorded one statistic, a five-yard penalty. The game would be his only NFL win, as his next three games (and every other Chargers game in the season) were each losses.
He was given the most playing time in a week 17 loss against the
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...
, were he recorded 3 tackles.
Hatcher was sent to
NFL Europe
NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...
the following year, playing in ten games for the
Amsterdam Admirals. He made 34 tackles with the Admirals.
He was released by the Chargers at roster cuts in 2001.
His final team was the
Frankfurt Galaxy Two American football franchises have been referred to as the Frankfurt Galaxy:
* Frankfurt Galaxy (NFL Europe), active in NFL Europe between 1991 and 2007
* Frankfurt Galaxy (ELF)
The Frankfurt Galaxy is an American football team in Frankfurt, ...
in 2002. He appeared in ten games for the NFL Europe team, making 24 tackles. He also scored his only career touchdown with them, on a 100-yard return against the
Barcelona Dragons Two American football franchises have been referred to as the Barcelona Dragons:
* Barcelona Dragons (NFL Europe), active in NFL Europe between 1991 and 2003;
* Barcelona Dragons (ELF)
The Barcelona Dragons are an American football team based in ...
.
Personal life
His cousin,
Billy Hatcher, spent 11 seasons in
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
(MLB).
After Hatcher's sports career he operated a marketing company from 2002 to 2009. He became a coach at
Ohio Northern University in August 2009. He was given the assistant defensive backs coach position as well as the freshmen team defensive coordinator role.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hatcher, Armon
1976 births
Living people
Oregon State Beavers football players
American football safeties
Sportspeople from Diamond Bar, California
Players of American football from Los Angeles County, California
Buffalo Bills players
San Diego Chargers players
Frankfurt Galaxy players
Amsterdam Admirals players