***

Hassell's arms and legs are covered in tattoos. The first one -- "RIP JG" placed on top of a football -- represents a tragedy that Hassell believes has shaped and defined him way more than a birth defect could.

Shortly before he began his high school football career, Hassell lost one of his best friends. According to news reports, 15-year-old Johntay Gowdie was struck in the head by a bullet and ultimately passed away a week later. Gowdie was one of three teens playing with a handgun when it inadvertently fired.

This was Hassell's first experience with death of any kind, and it hit him hard.

"It was crazy mentally," Hassell said. "We went to school together. We grew up playing football together. It was crazy for me at the time. I was young at the time. It was really hard. Everytime I'm on the field I'm thinking about him.

"He lives through me now."

Gowdie and Hassell were close on and off the field. Since they were in kindergarten, they vowed they'd make it to the NFL together. When he reflected on the origins of his NFL dream, J.T. first referred to it as "our dream" because of the role Gowdie played in it.

"After that happened, I really dug deep down and I said I'm going to do it for me," J.T. said. "That's what really pushed me in my mind that I always wanted to play football and I love football. I just love being out there. Even if I'm third team or fifth team, I'm just having fun every day no matter what my job is. I just love the game."

***

Hassell was an absolute terror on the field during a high school career that was split between the two high schools in Titusville -- Titusville High and Astronaut High. He piled up more than 100 tackles in each of his varsity seasons. He forced a whopping 20 fumbles, intercepted five passes and scored four touchdowns.

His impact, though, went well beyond the numbers. You didn't just see Hassell play in Brevard County. You felt him. And not once did you even think about his left hand.

"He's one of those ones where if you watched Astronaut play when he was there, the kids knew who he was," said Justin Worden, the current head coach at Astronaut High who was an assistant during the early part of Hassell's high school career and coached against him as he grew older.

"He's the guy that blows you up when you cut back. When you run at J.T., you're probably going to get hit. He has that reputation. It's almost like they revere you when you hit people like he does.

"Shoot, he caught a touchdown pass against us."

Hassell's dream of playing Division I football came true when he signed a scholarship to attend South Dakota State. Hundreds of miles from home, Hassell showed he belonged right from the jump, starting 14 games as a freshman and registering 62 tackles over two seasons.

On the field, everything was going as planned. Off the field, though, Hassell felt too distant from his family in Florida. He missed his son, Cameron -- who was born shortly before Hassell went off to school -- and the sudden death of his grandfather put his family in a tough spot.

It was time to come home, even if his football options weren't as palatable. Hassell waited and waited for a potential offer to stay in Division I but it never came. He opted for an understandably thrilled Florida Tech, a Division II school located less than an hour from his old high school.

"It was really tough for me to go D-1 to D-2," Hassell said. "At first I thought I lost everything but I was in my son's life. It was just hard because the dudes that get drafted are mostly all D-1 for this year's draft. It's kind of like that every year. It's hard to be at D-2, D-3, JUCO. It's one of the hardest things and people don't realize that."

Hassell did his part on the field.

In 23 games over two seasons, Hassell had more than 200 tackles, eight sacks and five forced fumbles. He had 20 tackles in a single game. He was a finalist for the 2018 Cliff Harris Award, given to the Small College Defensive Player of the Year, and landed on four Division II All-American teams.

Simply put, he was a local legend who was promptly inducted into the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame shortly after his college career came to a close.