Matt Hennessy


Matt Hennessy is an American football center for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League. He played college football at Temple.

Early life and high school

Hennessy was born in Nyack, New York and grew up in Bardonia, New York. He attended Don Bosco Preparatory High School in Ramsey, New Jersey and was a starter at offensive tackle as a junior and senior for the Ironmen. Rated a two-star recruit, Hennessy committed to play college football at Temple over offers from Air Force, Army and several Ivy League schools.

College career

Hennessy played in three games with one start at left guard as a true freshman before redshirting the rest of the season. He became the Owls' starting center going into his redshirt freshman year, starting all but one game that he missed due to injury. Hennessy was awarded a single-digit jersey as one of the nine toughest players on the team going into his redshirt sophomore year, which he wore in practice as offensive line are not eligible to wear single digit numbers in-game. He started eleven games, missing two due to injury. Hennessy started 12 games at center for the Owls as a redshirt junior and was named first team All-American Athletic Conference, second team All-America by USA Today and to the third team by the Associated Press and was named a finalist for the Rimington Trophy. Following the end of the season, Hennessy announced that he would forgo his final season of NCAA eligibility to enter the 2020 NFL Draft. Having graduated in December of his redshirt junior year, Hennessy was invited to and played in the 2020 Senior Bowl.

Professional career

Hennessy was selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft with the 78th overall selection.

Personal life

Hennessy's older brother, Thomas Hennessy, is the longsnapper for the New York Jets.