Leonard Hankerson Jr. (born January 30, 1989) is an American

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 ...

coach and former player who is the

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

s coach 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 professionally as a wide receiver in the NFL. Hankerson 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

Miami Hurricanes The Miami Hurricanes, known informally as The U, UM, or The 'Canes, are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The Hurricanes compete in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Coll ...

, and was selected by the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

in the third round of the

2011 NFL draft The 2011 NFL draft was the 76th installment of the annual National Football League draft, NFL draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Rad ...

. He also played for 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 ...

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

, and

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

Early life

Hankerson attended St. Thomas Aquinas High School in

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County, Florida, Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the ...

. As a junior, he had 28 receptions, 606 receiving yards, and 14

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

s. In his senior year, he had 39 receptions, 803 receiving yards, and 14

College career

As a

true freshman The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football; for a list of terms unique to that code, see '' Glossary of Canadian football''. 0–9 ...

in 2007, Hankerson started two of seven games, and had six receptions for 63 yards and a touchdown. As a sophomore in 2008 he started two of eight games, making 11 receptions for 140 yards and two touchdowns. As a junior in 2009, he became a full-time starter. He started 12 of 13 games and finished the season with 45 receptions for 801 yards and six touchdowns. His senior year he hauled in 72 catches for 1,156 yard and 13 touchdowns. The 13 touchdowns passed

Michael Irvin Michael Jerome Irvin (born March 5, 1966) is an American sports commentator and former professional football player. He played his entire 12-year career as a wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). In 2007, h ...

for the most in a single season by a Hurricane. In the Senior Bowl, Hankerson stood out as the best receiver catching 5 passes for 100 yards and a touchdown.

Professional playing career

Washington Redskins

Hankerson was selected by the

in the third round of the

. Hankerson made his NFL debut in Week 7 against the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

. In Week 9 against the

, he made his first career start. His rookie season was cut short after suffering a subluxation of his right hip and a torn labrum in his second game as a starter against the

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

. On November 15, Hankerson was officially placed on injured reserve. After nearly three months of relying solely on physical therapy, it was confirmed that Hankerson had surgery on his hip on February 21, 2012. Hankerson was fully healed from the surgery and ready by the start of training camp in late July. In the preseason, he competed with and lost to Josh Morgan for the starting flanker position. In Week 2 against the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...

, he recorded his first career touchdown after catching a 68-yard pass from

Robert Griffin III Robert Lee Griffin III (born February 12, 1990), nicknamed RGIII or RG3, is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons, most notably with the Washington Redskins. He ...

. In the Week 15 win over the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

, he would score two touchdowns with one of them being a 54-yard touchdown pass while under triple coverage from

Kirk Cousins Kirk Daniel Cousins (born August 19, 1988) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Michigan State Spartans football, Mi ...

. In the 2013 season opener against 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 ...

, Hankerson scored two touchdowns. Originally behind Josh Morgan in the depth chart again, he was later made the second starting wide receiver opposite of

Pierre Garçon Pierre Andre Garçon (; born August 8, 1986) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Norwich University and Mount Union College, and was s ...

due to his improved performance. The Redskins placed him on injured reserve on November 21, 2013, after he tore his left LCL and ACL in the Week 11 game against the Philadelphia Eagles. Having spent all of training camp on the PUP list, it was confirmed that Hankerson would remain by the start of the 2014 season on August 30, 2014. On November 4, the Redskins placed him on the active roster.

Atlanta Falcons

The

signed Hankerson to a one-year deal on March 11, 2015. On December 4, 2015, Hankerson was placed on season-ending Injured Reserve due to his struggles with hamstring injuries. On December 15 he was released from

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

, making him a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager 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 a contract at present ...

New England Patriots

The

claimed Hankerson off waivers on December 16, 2015. Hankerson played in one game before being waived on December 26.

Buffalo Bills

The

claimed Hankerson off waivers on December 28, 2015. On March 24, 2016, the Bills re-signed Hankerson on a one-year contract. On August 15, 2016, he was released by the Bills, following a poor showing in the team's first preseason game in which he dropped most of the passes thrown at him.

Coaching career

UMass

Hankerson joined Mark Whipple's

UMass The University of Massachusetts is the public university system of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The university system includes six campuses (Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, Lowell, a medical school in Worcester and a law school in Dartmouth ...

staff as an offensive graduate assistant in July 2017 and earned a promotion into the role of wide receivers coach for the 2018-19 school year.

Stephen F. Austin State

Hankerson was the outside wide receivers coach for

Stephen F. Austin State University Stephen F. Austin State University (SFASU or SFA) is a public university in Nacogdoches, Texas, in the United States. Named after Stephen F. Austin, one of the founders of Texas, SFA was founded as a teachers college in 1923 and built on part ...

from 2019 through 2020.

San Francisco 49ers

On February 11, 2021, the

announced Hankerson's hiring as their new offensive quality control coach. This reunited him with head coach

Kyle Shanahan Kyle Michael Shanahan (born December 14, 1979) is an American professional football coach who is the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He came to prominence as the offensive coordinator for the Atlanta ...

, who he played under when Shanahan was the offensive coordinator of the Redskins and Falcons. Hankerson was promoted to wide receivers coach in 2022.

Personal life

He has four children: Leonard III, Lenaris, Kienarria and Zara and is married to wife Kayla.

References

External links

*
San Francisco 49ers coaching profile

Miami Hurricanes profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hankerson, Leonard 1989 births Living people American football wide receivers Miami Hurricanes football players Players of American football from Fort Lauderdale, Florida Washington Redskins players Atlanta Falcons players New England Patriots players Buffalo Bills players St. Thomas Aquinas High School (Florida) alumni San Francisco 49ers coaches Coaches of American football from Florida High school football coaches in Florida UMass Minutemen football coaches Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks football coaches