THE MON THE MYTH THE LEGEND
‘Great kid’ at Monmouth becomes better story for Super Bowl Pats
“He came here, he was thankful for the opportunity to play football. We should have played him more and thrown him the ball more. He never complained. ... [He] said ‘I’ll do what you want me to do.’ ” — Monmouth coach Kevin Callahan, on Chris Hogan
As the images darted across the TV screen showing Chris Hogan absolutely destroying the Steelers, Kevin Callahan had to chuckle to himself.
Hogan played college football for only one season, 2010, and Callahan was his head coach. The guy hauling in virtually everything Tom Brady threw his way once lined up for Callahan and the Monmouth Hawks.
Lined up, that is, most often at cornerback.
“Shows you how smart coaches are, or something,’’ Callahan told The Post on Monday. “I got a guy who’s going off in the AFC title game and I got him playing defense.’’
This sounds about right, as nothing about Hogan’s rise to NFL prominence has followed a traditional script. What was a nice, fairly provincial story burst onto the national scene when Hogan erupted Sunday for nine receptions for a Patriots franchise playoff-record 180 yards, plus two touchdowns, in the 36-17 rout of the Steelers at Gillette Stadium. Next up for Hogan: Super Bowl LI.
And to think, Hogan started nine games in 2010 at cornerback for Monmouth, playing virtually every snap on defense and only 20-25 snaps per game at receiver. It was before an early-season game at Duquesne that Hogan switched sides of the ball.
“The week we move him to defensive secondary, we’re decimated at the position and we really don’t have anybody else,’’ Callahan said. “He makes the transition, he practices Wednesday and Thursday in the defensive secondary.
“The first time they go after him — and they went after him very early in the game — they threw at him, he picks the ball off. Later in the first half he picks another ball off. He just came off the field, I looked at him and said ‘ Why didn’t you tell me you could do that?’ He said ‘I’ll do anything you want me to, coach.’ It was just incredible.’’
By now, Hogan’s tale has been told and retold. Kid out of Wyckoff, N.J., and Ramapo High School goes to Penn State to help enliven a growing lacrosse program, graduates with one year of NCAA eligibility remaining, opts to return to his home state and scratch his football itch. Latches on at Monmouth and in one season catches 12 passes for 147 yards and has as many interceptions (three) moonlighting as a cornerback as he does touchdowns on offense.
Of course, Hogan did not get a sniff during the NFL draft and signed a free-agent deal with the 49ers. He had a brief stay with the Giants (practice squad for 11 days in September 2011) and hooked on with the Bills, playing in every game in 2013, 2014 and 2015, catching 87 passes for 959 yards and six touchdowns. This season, Hogan signed with the Patriots and in 15 games caught 38 passes for a career-high 680 yards and four touchdowns, working as part of Brady’s ever-changing receiver circle.
At 28, Hogan established himself as a nice, complementary target. What he has accomplished in his first two playoff games is the stuff of legend. In victories over the Texans and Steelers, Hogan has 13 catches on 16 targets. He is supposed to be an intermediate route-run- ner, which is why his 275 receiving yards in the postseason is so astonishing.
Callahan, the head coach at Monmouth since 1992, cannot say he saw this coming when asked to look back on the first time Hogan stepped onto the football field in the summer of 2010.
“Once he got out on the field, it was very obvious that there was probably very little he couldn’t do,’’ Callahan said. “He was that talented.
“I think his goal was to see if he could make it to the next level, to play on Sunday, to play in the NFL. I think he missed football, as a matter of fact he told me that, although he enjoyed lacrosse at Penn State he used to go and watch the football games and kind of wish he was out there playing football.’’
It is not as if Callahan had never before seen an NFL-caliber receiver wearing a Monmouth Hawks uniform. He coached Miles Austin for four seasons (2002-2005) but working with Austin was different, as he set school and Northeast Conference records for receptions, yards and touchdowns. Austin was not drafted, but spent 10 years in the NFL, the first eight with the Cowboys.
Currently, Monmouth has three players in the NFL: Hogan, Jaguars tight end Neal Sterling and Cardinals tight end Hakeem Valles. Only Hogan played far more lacrosse than football. Callahan said he once saw Hogan fooling around long-snap ping and noticed he was great at it. Same with punting.
“He could do just about anything,’’ Callahan said.
“He came here, he was thankful for the opportunity to play football. We should have played him more and thrown him the ball more. He never complained, he never said ‘I came here to be the star, I came here to play offense and catch passes.’ Never said a word, said ‘I’ll do what you want me to do.’
“Great Great.’’