Long snapper Thomas Hennessy of the New York Jets takes great delight in always living in the moment. There’s logic to that, too. Because of this, he was able to take the extraordinary and improbable path that led him to where he is now.
More than ten years ago, when Hennessy first enrolled at Don Bosco, he was still a scrawny 6-2. He was too slow to challenge the Ironmen’s elite weapons for playing time and too weak to compete for a spot in the trenches with the team’s star players. But instead of moping, he did the only thing he could: he started long snapping.
Hennessy, a native of Bardonia, New York, went 35-0 during his three years at Don Bosco High School, where he started as a senior and long snapped for the best high school football team in the country and maybe the greatest team ever (with another national title in 2009).
Most observers didn’t give him much of a second thought compared to more well-known colleagues like Jabrill Peppers and Leonte Carroo. He had only been a long snapper for three years when he was ranked as one of the top 10 in the country. He constantly sought improvement and was rewarded with a scholarship to Duke, where he went on to start all 52 games during his time there.
He went undrafted but was signed as a rookie free agent by the Colts in April of 2017. At the tail end of the preseason, while he was still competing for a roster spot, general manager Chris Ballard brought him into his office and informed him that he had been traded to the Jets.
Where Is Thomas Hennessy?
Thomas Hennessy is with the New York Jets of the NFL. Hennessy extended his contract with the Jets on October 5, 2019, by signing a new deal for $4.4 million over the next four years.