Former Florida Gators WR Josh Hammond Shares His Journey to NFL

The Gators sent a total of four wide receivers to the NFL during or immediately after the 2020 NFL Draft. Van Jefferson, Tyrie Cleveland, Freddie Swain, and Josh Hammond.

While the former three had a conventional route to the NFL, Hammond's was a bit different, unorthodox. Unlike Jefferson, Cleveland, and Swain, Hammond wasn't invited to the NFL Combine, he didn't get the notoriety or flash that the rest of the receivers in his group got. But given the route he was offered, he did what he could to showcase his talents.

What was afforded to Hammond was an East-West Shrine game appearance, which doesn't hold the same notoriety as the senior bowl, but, for Hammond, it doesn't matter what opportunity he received, all that mattered was that he made the most of it.

"When you have those opportunities to go out there and perform, you want to put your best foot forward no matter what it is, because you know this game can be taken away from you at any second," Hammond told Sports Illustrated's AllGators during a phone interview yesterday. "So, you don't take it for granted. You try to go out there and do everything the best that you can. No matter who's watching, no matter who's there, somebody's always watching."

Someone is always watching. While it may not get as much of the fan-fare, every NFL team sends scouts, and oftentimes coaches and general managers to the Shrine Game to get a closer look at the talent. For example, Hammond's current team, the Jacksonville Jaguars, sent both their head coach, Doug Marrone and general manager, Dave Caldwell to the game earlier this year.

With no combine invite and yet another roadblock in the way, Hammond had to do what he could to get his tape out there. One of the primary ways for teams to get a closer look at prospects, specifically their physical attributes, is to see them run or test during the combine.

Since Hammond was not invited and the pro days were canceled due to the on-going pandemic caused by the coronavirus, the former Gators receiver had to put on his own pro day.

He and his agent got to work on his pro day event right away, making sure he could showcase his craft and get the numbers he needed to get to teams out there. With teams already calling, it was a priority for him to put himself in a better position to hopefully get drafted, or at the very least, get signed.

Getting drafted is a dream come true for all any football player growing up, and while Hammond admits not being selected "sucks", it doesn't make a difference in how he gets there. His brother, Frankie Hammond Jr., who followed a very similar trajectory of not being drafted after playing collegiately at Florida, helped him understand the process more than anything.

"He went undrafted," said Hammond. "[He] was in the league for four years, made a pretty good career for his situation. So, I've seen it be done in my household. So me not getting drafted wasn't too much of a bummer for me because I know the work that it takes."

Since his brother lives in Gainesville now, Hammond has been able to bounce ideas off of his older brother, especially during the draft weekend. When it was clear the call wasn't coming during the draft to be selected, the two got to looking at the different rosters and, ultimately, figuring out which was the best fit - something Josh remembers Frankie going through when he was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs in 2013.

One of the few perks of being undrafted is a player can - for the most part - decide between a few teams rather than being forced to join a team that may not be a great fit. For Hammond, the three teams which ultimately were for his choice came down to the Jaguars, Dallas Cowboys, and Atlanta Falcons.

For the Cowboys, they had already selected former Oklahoma standout Ceedee Lamb and were rearing to sign a few more in undrafted free agency. An overloaded group of players which, frankly, likely would have meant tough sledding for Hammond as he made his way through the process of making a team.

The Falcons did not work out either for whatever reason, and the Jaguars were there for the taking. A young group of talented, but essentially, unproven receivers that could maybe allow Hammond to earn a spot at the end of training camp.

Another factor in the decision? A brand-new offensive coordinator in town in Jaguars offensive coordinator Jay Gruden. Everyone is going to be on a more level playing field, as a result, said Hammond.

"So for me to come in an open slate where kinda nobody knows nothing it feels like a fair game almost...if you have guys that, you know, one, two years in the same offense, they're definitely comfortable and know the ins-and-outs about the offense. But, when everybody's learning a new offense it's definitely a little more complicated because everybody's trying to learn at the same time and figure things out as a whole."

A great group of guys and a  wide receiver coach in Keenan McCardell who recruited Hammond while McCardell was still at Maryland, made the match ideal.

With four Gators receivers entering the NFL this year, it's a testament to not only the Florida Gators football program, but to the group's unselfish nature, Hammond says.

"I think our group, we worked very hard, we all pushed each other. We kept track of everything throughout the season."

During the season, whether it was in a game or camps, the players kept track of all statistics with the help of wide receiver coach Billy Gonzales. Whether it was yards, drops, RAC (run-after-catch), touchdowns, or receptions, they kept track of it all - adding more motivation for each man up, one of the more competitive units on the field.

"I mean, it got to a point where we all knew, you know, that we were all good football players," he said. "And we could all transfer to another school and be the number one guy, but we were all in it to try to win a championship. So, it didn't really matter who made the play, we just wanted the play to be made."

While each player was always striving to better themselves, Hammond says he - along with the rest of the group - just wanted to see each other have success.

"I think I get more excited when somebody else scores rather than myself...I mean, you could look back on clips of people catching the ball and us running down the sideline"

The love the group had for each other, and continue to have, is special, which is part of how everything was tied together so well for the receiver room at Florida over the past couple of seasons under head coach Dan Mullen.

In reflecting on his past with the Gators, Hammond says he was able to think more about it during the team's bye week just before Senior Day, able to finally think back about what playing in the Swamp meant to him, and how many different crazy moments happened such as the hail mary, or even loses the team took like to Texas A&M in 2017.

"But, that's the game of football, you don't win every one. But you know you know you get back up and try to continue to fight, fight, fight until you can't fight anymore and I think that's one thing we've always done at the University of Florida. That's how it's led us to put us in the national prominence leading into this upcoming year."

Hammond has lofty expectations for his former team this upcoming season, with everything his teams at Florida went through, he feels the younger guys should understand much more now, right from wrong, especially.

"They should make the playoffs this year."