Wayne Chrebet still a dedicated hometown Jets supporter
NEW YORK (BVM) 鈥� Everyone loves an underdog and perhaps no city loves rags to riches 海角社区 more than New York City. Fittingly, one of the city鈥檚 best football players, former New York Jets wide receiver Wayne Chrebet, overcame long odds to reach the pinnacle of success in the sport. While many in the city know of Chrebet鈥檚 journey to the NFL, likely not as many have kept up with what the former wideout is doing today and that also shows just how impressive his odyssey has been.
Early years and high school football
Chrebet and the Jets seemed basically tied at the hip from his youth growing up in Garfield, New Jersey, just 15 minutes outside of the New Meadowlands Stadium, now known as MetLife Stadium.
鈥淚 don’t think I was born to be a professional football player, but I worked at it,鈥� Chrebet wrote in an article on the Jets鈥� . 鈥淓ven though I didn’t know it at the time, I was preparing for my first training camp since I was 5 years old. Every break, every halftime, every chance I got, I was throwing the ball around with my dad 鈥� football, baseball, tennis ball, it didn’t matter. I was diving on my parents’ couches, neighbors’ lawns, wherever.鈥�
A young Chrebet excelled at the high school level, being named all-county and all-area for football while also lettering in basketball and baseball during his time at Garfield High School.
College career
Following graduation from Garfield, Chrebet would enroll at Hofstra University in Long Island, New York where he would have to walk onto the school鈥檚 football team. He would make the roster and though it would take until his junior year for the wideout to start for the Pride, once he did he became a legend.
In his first season starting, Chrebet became the program鈥檚 first 1,000-yard receiver in 1994 setting a program-record 16 touchdowns in a single season and set a school record (since broken) with 245 receiving yards in a game at Delaware, while tying Jerry Rice鈥檚 Division I-AA record (since broken) for touchdown receptions in a game with five. Chrebet would go on to set career records in career touchdowns with 31 and finished his career with 150 receptions for 2,297 yards. His No. 3 jersey was retired by the program in 2003 and he was inducted into the Hofstra University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2006.
NFL career
Despite his success at the collegiate level, Chrebet was seen as too undersized for the NFL given his 5-foot-10, 188-pound frame. Going undrafted in the 1995 NFL Draft, Chrebet would sign with the Jets as an undrafted free agent where he would begin his journey at the very bottom of the wide receiver depth chart.
鈥淲ith a backpack on and my hat low, I walked from my dorm across campus to practice,鈥� Chrebet . 鈥淚 was stopped at the guard booth by Hofstra security officer Harry Fisher, who simply said, 鈥楴o autographs.鈥� I explained who I was and said, 鈥楧ude, I have practice to go to. I’m going to be late, but he still didn’t believe I was a player. I was looking around like what am I supposed to do here? I can’t tell Harry to call someone because I didn’t know anybody. Eventually, someone waved me in.鈥�
However, there was no quit in Chrebet. The former walk-on proved himself once again with crisp route running and great hands, enough so to make the Jets‘ final 53-player roster in 1995. But Chrebet was not just on the roster, he was one of the Jets鈥� starting wideouts and this would be the start of a career that would span 11 seasons, all in the Green & White. He would retire in June 2006 after a season-ending concussion in 2005.
Over the course of his Jets career, Chrebet would play in 152 games with 105 starts recording 580 receptions, 7,365 yards and 41 touchdowns, finishing second in team history in receptions behind Don Maynard and third in yards behind only Maynard and Wesley Walker. Chrebet also finished his career among the best undrafted wide receivers as he recorded the third-most receptions ever, trailing only Denver Broncos legend Rod Smith (754) and former Washington wideout Gary Clark (699). Chrebet would be inducted into the Jets鈥� Ring of Honor in 2014.
鈥淭o see my name now in the Ring of Honor up there with guys like Joe Namath, Don Maynard, Joe Klecko, it’s surreal,鈥� Chrebet . 鈥淏eing a part of the Green & White immortals means everything to me because it validated my career and gave me a chance to say goodbye because I basically walked off the field with injury.鈥�
Post-playing career and relationship with Jets
Following his time with the Jets, Chrebet would take on Wall Street. In 2009, Chrebet joined Morgan Stanley Smith Barney but would join Barclays as an assistant vice president in the wealth and investment management division in 2012, a role he still holds today.
While Chrebet may have found success away from the gridiron, he still stays close to the franchise that he became a legend for. Chrebet is a current co-host of the 鈥淯nderdog Jets鈥� podcast for .
This spring, Chrebet also got to celebrate another member of the family as his son announced his commitment to The Catholic University of America.
Congrats to my man 鈦︹仼 on signing his letter of intent to play football at 鈦atholic University. You鈥檙e going to do great things the next 4 years. Love Mom, Dad, Lukas and Griffin.
— Wayne Chrebet (@waynechrebet)
Even though he鈥檚 been out of the league for over 15 years now, Jets fans still hold Chrebet close to their hearts, so much so that Chrebet even helped the team announce its fan of the year last season.
For Chrebet, he couldn鈥檛 be prouder of his career and making it to the NFL the hard way.
鈥淪omething like that, my career, isn’t supposed to happen,鈥� Chrebet 鈥淏ut I worked for it, I put everything I had into it. Sure, it might’ve been easier to come into the league now, but I like the path I took.
鈥淭o all the undrafted free agents this year and years to come: Sometimes it’s better to go undrafted. You get to decide what team gives you the best chance to succeed. You may only get one chance during training camp. Keep your head low, do the dirty work, learn the playbook. Plus, it makes for a better story.鈥�
