The future stars of Ohio State football officially begin their college careers, as standouts from all over the country put pens to their National Letters of Intent.
The Ohio State equipment staff won't have to change the last name on Davon Hamilton's locker.
Buckeyes, forever. #Rushmen, forever. Welcome to the family @Ty_Hami1ton#GoBucks #XXclusive pic.twitter.com/qVLtCRVhZA
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) December 18, 2019
The Hamilton File
- Class: 2020
- Size: 6-foot-3, 250 pounds
- Pos: DE
- School: Pickerington Central (OH)
- Composite Rating: ★★★
- Composite Rank: 36 (SDE)
His younger brother, Ty, signed his National Letter of Intent to play for the Buckeyes on Wednesday, ensuring the Hamilton family legacy in Columbus lived on. In 2020, for the sixth year in a row, a Hamilton will take the field for Ohio State.
Ty Hamilton's journey to become a future Buckeye didn't last as long as it did for his older brother, who committed to three different colleges before eventually flipping one final time from Kentucky to Ohio State on Jan. 26, 2015. Yet for a while, it appeared as though he might have to go elsewhere.
As the No. 753 overall prospect out of Pickerington Central, Hamilton didn't lead a national recruitment. Plenty of midwest programs pursued him, though. Michigan, Kentucky, Indiana, Minnesota, Purdue and Penn State offered him scholarships in the spring after his junior season of high school football. Even with his brother playing for the Buckeyes, he took a visit to Ann Arbor in February. More than four months after receiving his first Big Ten offer, Larry Johnson extended Hamilton a scholarship on May 28, immediately speeding up his recruitment.
Hamilton set up a trio of official visits to Penn State, Ohio State and Michigan. He never made the official to Ann Arbor, though. A week after the trip to Happy Valley and two days after his official to Ohio State, he committed to play for the Buckeyes.
Growing up in the area, he always wanted to play for Ohio State, and now he'll get a chance to do so while following the same path his brother took.
“I always wanted him to do better than me,” Davon said in September. “I feel like with any little brother-big bro thing, if you can come in here and do better than me, I’m gonna be proud of him.”
On the defensive line, Hamilton epitomizes one of the changing trends in Ohio State's recruiting. At 6-foot-3 and 250 pounds, he's not yet pegged as solely a defensive end or defensive tackle.
“They wanna see me as a hybrid, playing defensive end and 3-tech; to be able to play the whole field basically,” Hamilton said in October. “Moving inside and coming around the edge (was part of my recruitment).”
Both other defensive line recruits – Darrion Henry and Jacolbe Cowan – have similarly large frames that might have people expecting they'll play defensive tackle. However, they both have said they expect to play defensive end. The versatility of Hamilton, along with Henry and Cowan, will allow Johnson to move him around up front.
Hamilton is expected to finish out his senior year of high school before enrolling in Ohio State in the summer.
As a senior at Pickerington Central, he helped his team capture the Division I state title in the fall. The next few years in Columbus, he'll try to figure out how to capture championships as a Buckeye.
