Terrill Hanks (born December 7, 1995) is an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

who is a free agent. 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 ...

New Mexico State New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a Public university system, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1888, it is the state's oldest public institution ...

. He played for the

Birmingham Stallions The Birmingham Stallions were a franchise in the United States Football League, an attempt to establish a second professional league of American football in the United States in competition with the National Football League. They played their ...

of the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

(USFL),

DC Defenders The DC Defenders are a professional American football team based in Washington, D.C. The Defenders compete in the United Football League (2024), United Football League (UFL) as a member of the XFL Conference. The team was founded by Vince McMaho ...

and

San Antonio Brahmas The San Antonio Brahmas are a professional American football team based in San Antonio, Texas. The Brahmas compete in the United Football League (UFL) as a member of the XFL Conference. The team is owned and operated by Dwayne Johnson's Alpha ...

of the XFL, and

Memphis Showboats The Memphis Showboats were an American football franchise in the United States Football League. They entered the league in its expansion in 1984 and made the 1985 playoffs, losing in the semifinal round to the Oakland Invaders. Perhaps the ...

of the United Football League (UFL).

Early life

Hanks grew up in

Miami Gardens, Florida Miami Gardens is a city in north-central Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is a suburb of Miami and located north of Greater Downtown Miami, downtown Miami with city boundaries that stretch from Interstate 95 in Florida, I-95 and N ...

, close to

Hard Rock Stadium Hard Rock Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in the Southeastern United States, located in Miami Gardens, Florida. The stadium is the home field for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL) and the Miami Hurricanes, the Univers ...

and was a fan of 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 ...

in his childhood. He attended Immaculata-LaSalle High School and played

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

for the Royal Lions football team and made over 100 tackles as a senior. Rated a two-star prospect by Rivals.com, but did not qualify academically for an NCAA scholarship until late in his senior year. Hanks committed to play college football at

, one of only two schools to offer him a scholarship along with

Appalachian State Appalachian State University (), or App State, is a public research university in Boone, North Carolina, United States. It was founded as a teachers' college in 1899 by brothers B. B. and D. D. Dougherty and the latter's wife, Lillie Shull Dou ...

College career

Hanks played four seasons for the

New Mexico State Aggies The New Mexico State University teams are called the Aggies, a nickname derived from the university's agricultural beginnings. The mascot is known as " Pistol Pete". NMSU's colors are crimson and white. Since 2023 the Aggies have competed in Co ...

. After bulking up and moving from the defensive secondary to

, he started all but one game as a freshman and recorded 81 tackles with 6.5 tackles for loss, four pass deflections, and a forced fumble and was named to the

Sun Belt Conference The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that has been affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football confe ...

All-Newcomer team. He made 111 total tackles, 15 of which were for a loss, with seven sacks and two forced fumbles as a junior, earning honorable mention All-Sun Belt honors. As a senior, Hanks recorded 101 tackles with 9.0 tackles for loss, three pass deflections, a fumble recovery and a forced fumble in only nine games after missing three contests due to an ankle injury. Over the course of his collegiate career, he accumulated 391 tackles (fourth-most in Aggies history), 43.0 tackles for loss, 11 sacks and 8 interceptions along with 14 passes defensed, three fumble recoveries and seven forced fumbles. After his final season, Hanks earned an invitation to participate in the

2019 Senior Bowl The 2019 Senior Bowl was an all-star college football exhibition game played on January 26, 2019, at 1:30 p.m. CST, at Ladd–Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Alabama. The game featured prospects for the 2019 draft of the professional National Fo ...

as a member of the South team, where he impressed scouts in practice. In the game Hanks registered eight tackles, tied with Deshaun Davis for most in the game, as the South lost to team North 34–24.

Professional career

Miami Dolphins

Hanks went unselected in the

2019 NFL draft The 2019 NFL draft was the 84th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2019 NFL season. The draft was held on April 25–27 in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville. The first round was held ...

. Shortly after the draft concluded, he signed with the

as an

undrafted 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 ...

. He was waived on September 1, 2019, and was re-signed to the practice squad. He signed a

futures contract In finance, a futures contract (sometimes called futures) is a standardized legal contract to buy or sell something at a predetermined price for delivery at a specified time in the future, between parties not yet known to each other. The item tr ...

with the team on December 31, 2019. Hanks was waived by the Dolphins on April 26, 2020.

Birmingham Stallions

Hanks was drafted by the

in the 30th round of the

2022 USFL draft The 2022 USFL draft, also known as the 2022 USFL player selection meeting, was the player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams for the 2022 USFL season. The draft was held on February 22–23, 2022, with results released thro ...

. He was transferred to the active roster on April 30, 2022, due to a hamstring injury. He was moved back to the active roster on May 6. He was released on January 2, 2023.

DC Defenders

On January 1, 2023, Hanks was selected by the

in the seventh round of the 2023 XFL Supplemental Draft. He signed with the team on March 8, 2023, and was released on March 20.

San Antonio Brahmas

Hanks was claimed off waivers by the

on March 22, 2023. He was not part of the roster after the

2024 UFL dispersal draft The 2024 UFL dispersal draft was the player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams for the 2024 UFL season and disperse the rosters from the eight teams from its component conferences, the XFL and USFL, that were not retained i ...

on January 15, 2024.

Memphis Showboats

On May 8, 2024, Hanks signed with the

of the United Football League (UFL). He re-signed with the team on September 19, 2024. He was released on November 26, 2024.

References

External links

New Mexico State Aggies bio