Wayne Chrebet

The son of a Vietnam War purple heart recipient, Wayne Chrebet was born into a blue collar football tradition in New Jersey where he still lives with his wife Amy and two sons. Chrebet was a surprise star for Hofstra University where he set numerous receiving records. Wayne Chrebet was not drafted by any team at the National Football League Draft yet was not deterred and eventually earned a long shot walk-on opportunity with the New York Jets where he was 11th of 11 on the depth chart. Chrebet was even stopped and detained at the front gate on his first day of training camp by the senior New York Jets security guard who did not believe Chrebet could actually be a football player due to his size. A New York Jet team official was summoned per Chrebet's polite but firm request to finally verify he was indeed an authorized walk-on and could enter the training complex. What followed was one of the greatest rags to riches stories in the history of professional sports as Wayne Chrebet worked his way up the depth chart from 11th to make the team. Wayne Chrebet was the first Hoftra Flying Dutchmen to make an NFL roster since John Schmitt in 1964. Chrebet not only made the team but became one of the most exciting players in the history of the New York Jet franchise. On December 3rd, 1995 versus the St. Louis Rams #80 Wayne Chrebet pulled in 8 receptions, broke several tackles and even dragged a Ram defender on a memorable scamper toward the goal line. On October 19th, 1996 at Jacksonville Chrebet hauled in 12 receptions for 162 yards with five third-down conversions. Chrebet set the NFL record for most receptions by a wide receiver in his first two seasons. Later a former New York Jet stated at a press conference that comparing Wayne Chrebet to himself "is like comparing a flashlight to a star". Chrebet quietly went about his business on September 24th, 2000 and caught an 18-yard TD pass from Curtis Martin with 52 seconds left to give the Jets a 21-17 victory over their new rival the Tampa Bay Bucs while the former New York player could only muster a single meaningless reception for seven yards. After this the New York media dubbed Chrebet "The Green Lantern", but his primary nickname was "Mr. Third Down" because 379 of his 580 career receptions were first downs. Chrebet gained his legend only with his performance and not his mouth. Wayne Chrebet prided himself on being respectful, values he learned from his parents. Some consider #80 Wayne Chrebet's best overall day as the October 10th, 2004 contest with the Buffalo Bills in which Chrebet enjoyed a perfect game catching all 8 passes sent his way from quarterback Chad Pennington in a tight 16-14 victory. On November 6, 2005 against the San Diego Chargers, Wayne Chrebet's career ended when he sustained a serious concussion on a clean play. Despite being knocked unconscious and being down on the field for several minutes Wayne Chrebet still made that final third-down catch for a first down, symbolic of the type of plays he made throughout his career. Wayne Chrebet's 580 receptions ranks him 2nd all time (only behind hall of fame player Don Maynard) and his 7,365 yards from scrimmage place him 5th all-time in the New York Jets record books. Among all-time National Football League (NFL) players who were not drafted, he owns the third-most receptions in the history of the league (he trails only Rod Smith and Gary Clark). Wayne Chrebet wore both the green "Jets" era helmet and uniform and also the Super Bowl III inspired white helmet and livery. During his career he caught passes from 13 different players, played for several different head coaches, and worked for two different owners (the late Leon Hess and Woody Johnson whom Chrebet happily noted how thankful he was to both of them for the opportunities provided to him at his lavish retirement ceremony). For his accomplishments at Hofstra University, Wayne Chrebet was part of the inaugural class to be inducted into the Hofstra University Athletic Hall of Fame and his jersey was retired. Wayne Chrebet wore his fan favorite New York Jet No. 80 jersey for 11 seasons. Wayne Chrebet never played for another team. It is still very common to see Jets fans wear his jersey to this day.