Hard Knocks Creates a Celebrity: Chris Hogan In Demand

No other Miami Dolphins player may gain as much from one episode of HBO's Hard Knocks: Trianing Camp with the Miami Dolphinsas wide receiver Chris Hogan gained from Tuesday night's second episode. Let's face it, over the entire 5-episode run of the show, none of the players may be able to gain the notorietyHogan now has. Hogan was spotlighted during this most recent episode, and, unlike players like Roberto Wallace and Michael Egnew, who took the brunt of coaches frustrations, Hogan came out looking great.

So great in fact, that he came away from the show with a nickname. During the show, running back Reggie Bush called Hogan "7-Eleven," referencing the act that the convenience store chain is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It stuck. Hogan has been able to use precise rout running to get separation from the cornerbacks during practice, and seems, as the nickname would suggest, to always be open.

Following that one episode, Hogan's name is now being discussed around the country. He's become a target for the media at Dolphins' practices, and is being requested for radio interviews. Overnight, Hogan has become a celebrity.

Despite being recruited out of high school by Rutgers and Connecticut, among others, Hogan played one season of football at the college level, playing defensive back for Monmouth in 2010, after spending three seasons playing lacrosse at Penn State. Hogan received some draft buzz after running a 4.47 second 40-yard dash at Fordham University's Pro Day leading into the 2011 Draft, but he would go unselected.

NFL coaches and general managers seemed confused by Hogan. Some teams seemed to look at him as a wide receiver. Some thought safety. In the end, he signed with the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted free agent, but was limited throughout the preseason due to an ankle injury. Eventually he was released by San Francisco, being signed in September of 2011 by the New York Giants, who stashed him on their practice squad for a month before releasing him.

He signed with the Dolphins on December 27 last year, finishing the season on the team's practice squad before signing a futures contract to come to the Dolphins training camp this year. Now, with a full preseason workout regimen and training camp behind him, Hogan seems ready to make his case for a position on the Dolphins 53-man roster.

Apparently, however, the starring role in Hard Knocks has caused some disagreements in the Miami locker room already. Not about Hogan, but about who came up with the nickname.

"Davone [Bess] said he came up with it," Hogan told the Palm Beach Post. "[Ryan] Tannehill and [Pat] Devlin said they came up with it. I'm going to give credit to everyone. They started calling me that the second week of camp."

Whomever started the nickname has propelled Hogan into the spotlight, at least for one week. Now we all just have to wait and see if being open 24/7 will be enough to land 7-Eleven on the 53-man roster.