Victor Brian Hobson (born February 3, 1980) is an American former 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 ...

player who was a

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 ...

in 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

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except wo ...

. Hobson was selected in the second round of the 2003 NFL draft by 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 ...

, for whom he played from 2003 to 2007. He also played in the NFL for the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

and

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

. After his football career, he became an

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...

for Global Entertainment.

Early life

Hobson was born in

Mount Laurel, New Jersey Mount Laurel is a Township (New Jersey), township in Burlington County, New Jersey, Burlington County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township, and all of Burlington County, is a part of the Philadelphia-Reading, Pennsylvania, Reading-Camd ...

, where he grew up for most of his life. He commuted from

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

for his

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

career at St. Joseph's Preparatory. His coach saw that Hobson had large hands and feet to accompany his awkward walk and thin 6-2 frame and thus was nicknamed "Little Pup." At the end of his sophomore year he had grown to a 215-pound frame, meriting the nickname "Big Dog." At St. Joe's he started at both middle linebacker and tight end. In 1997, he led the St. Joe's prep football team to their first championship in 20 years and was voted the Catholic League best all-around player. Among almost 40 division I football offers he chose to attend his lifetime favorite school, the University of Michigan.

College career

At the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, Hobson started 39 of 49 games for the

Wolverines The wolverine ( , ; ''Gulo gulo''), also called the carcajou or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling member of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscular carnivore and a solitary animal. The wolverine ...

, registering 277 tackles, 15 sacks, 3 fumble recoveries, 4 forced fumbles, 6 passes defensed, and 2 interceptions. His 47 stops for losses placed him third all time in Michigan history behind

Curtis Greer Curtis Greer (born November 10, 1957) is an American former professional football defensive end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1980 to 1987. He was a top pass-rusher in the early 1980s before hi ...

and

Mark Messner Mark W. Messner (born December 29, 1965) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL) during the 1989 season. He sustained a serious knee injury in the 1 ...

. He was named the 2000 winner of The

Roger Zatkoff Roger Zatkoff (March 25, 1931 – November 4, 2021) was an American professional football player and businessman. A native of Hamtramck, Michigan, Zatkoff played college football for the Michigan Wolverines from 1950 to 1952 and was selected a ...

Award as the team's best linebacker. He entered the

NFL draft The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...

after his senior year at Michigan.

Professional career

After the

NFL scouting combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foot ...

listed him as the number 2 out of 34 linebacker prospects, he was selected 53rd overall in the second round by the New York Jets, joining his fellow Michigan teammate

B. J. Askew Bobby DeAngelo Askew Jr. (born August 19, 1980) is an American former professional football player who was a fullback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football as the University of Michigan. He ranks third all-time amo ...

(fullback), also drafted by the Jets in 2003. Hobson lasted five seasons in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. In 2006, he registered a career high 100 tackles on 66 solo tackles and 34 assisted tackles and 6 sacks.

NFL statistics

Philanthropy

In 2006 Hobson and his wife L’Tesia started the Hobson & Hobson outreach in spring of 2006. They have pledged millions to set up homes abroad including the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

for children and adults with special needs.

Film entertainment

Hobson works at Global entertainment, founded in 2010, where he acts as a writer, producer, and director. He was the Executive Producer for the film “C’mon Man”, released on June 26, 2012. Hobson and his wife continued to work on multiple motion pictures.

Personal life

Hobson and his wife, director and film Producer L'tesia Asensio Hobson, reside in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hil ...

. They have seven children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hobson, Victor 1980 births Living people American football linebackers Arizona Cardinals players Cincinnati Bengals players Michigan Wolverines football players New England Patriots players New York Jets players Sportspeople from Mount Laurel, New Jersey St. Joseph's Preparatory School alumni 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen Players of American football from Burlington County, New Jersey