Another new group of Buckeyes are about to officially become NFL players, so we’re taking a look back at the best highlights from their Ohio State careers in From the Shoe to the Show.
Ohio State is set to be one of the most well-represented schools in the NFL draft once again in 2020, with more than a dozen players expected to either be drafted or sign as undrafted free agents later this week.
From the Shoe to the Show
Among all the Buckeyes in the draft, there might not be anyone whose stock improved more over the past year than DaVon Hamilton, who had his most impactful season by far as a fifth-year senior at Ohio State. Going into the 2019 season, Hamilton wasn’t likely to be selected before the late rounds – if he was drafted at all. But now, he’s firmly in the conversation to potentially be selected on Day 2 of the draft.
Hamilton’s first four years as a Buckeye were quieter, but there were a couple huge moments from those seasons that certainly belong on his highlight reel. Just a few days before he’ll officially become an NFL player, it’s time to take a look back at those moments and some of his standout performances from this past season.
Fumble recovery in The Game
In his first appearance in a rivalry game against Michigan in 2016, Hamilton – who grew up watching the rivalry in the Columbus suburb of Pickerington – made a crucial play when he recovered a Wilton Speight at the 2-yard line on 2nd-and-goal early in the third quarter.
Michigan would ultimately extend its lead to 17-7 after an unsuccessful fake punt attempt for the Buckeyes on their next possession, but Ohio State would come back to win the game, 30-27, in a double-overtime thriller, and Hamilton’s fumble recovery – the biggest play of his early seasons as a Buckeye – helped make that possible.
In the right place at the right time
It’s not very common to see a nose tackle score a touchdown, but that’s exactly what happened in Ohio State’s third game of the 2018 season against TCU in Arlington, Texas, when Hamilton pounced on a fumble in the Horned Frogs’ end zone for the only score of his collegiate career.
Nick Bosa made the play happen, blowing by TCU left tackle Anthony McKinney to knock the ball out of Horned Frogs quarterback Shawn Robinson’s hands on the goal line, and Dre’Mont Jones had a chance to recover the ball in the end zone. But Jones didn’t quite secure it (he made up for it with a pick-six later in the game) and Hamilton dove on the still-loose ball to score six points for the Buckeyes.
That touchdown gave Ohio State a 10-0 lead in a game it would eventually win, 40-28.
Another fumble recovery against the Spartans
Hamilton worked on changing his body to improve his athleticism before his senior season with the Buckeyes, and it showed throughout the year, with one shining example coming in Ohio State’s sixth game of 2019 against Michigan State.
After a pitch from Brian Lewerke got away from Spartans running back Elijah Collins, Hamilton – who was initially rushing toward Lewerke – agilely chased down the loose ball, diving in front of both Lewerke and Collins for his third career fumble recovery.
That fumble recovery set up a field goal for Ohio State’s first points of the game, which the Buckeyes would win, 34-10.
A two-sack game
In the first 46 games of his Ohio State career, Hamilton recorded just one total sack. In his final seven games as a Buckeye, Hamilton had six sacks.
One week after recording his first sack of his senior season against Wisconsin, Hamilton had his first and only two-sack game of his Ohio State career in the Buckeyes’ ninth game of the year against Maryland.
His first sack came in the first minute of the game, when Hamilton simply went unblocked and exploded into the backfield to bury Josh Jackson for a 5-yard loss. In the second quarter, Hamilton really showed his ability to rush the passer when he got to the outside of Maryland left guard Sean Christie and blew by him to get to Jackson again for a 7-yard sack.
Ohio State went on to win that game by a whopping 73-14 margin.
Two TFLs in The Game
Hamilton came up big against the team up north again in 2019, when he recorded a career-high five total tackles, including two tackles for loss and one sack, in Ohio State’s 56-27 win over Michigan.
In the first quarter, Hamilton buried Michigan running back Hassan Haskins in the backfield for a 1-yard loss. In the fourth quarter, Hamilton recorded his fifth tackle of the game when he sacked Shea Patterson for a 10-yard loss.
Hamilton was named as one of Ohio State’s defensive players of the game for his performance in Ann Arbor, where he earned a fifth pair of Gold Pants to cap off his Buckeye career.
Third-team All-Big Ten honoree
In recognition of his excellent play in his senior season – his only season as a regular starter at nose tackle for the Buckeyes – Hamilton earned third-team All-Big Ten honors from both the coaches and the media.
By taking his game to new heights in 2019, recording 28 total tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss and six sacks – ranking second on Ohio State’s roster in sacks and third in tackles for loss – Hamilton established himself as one of the Big Ten’s top interior defensive linemen, and now he has a chance to be one of the first defensive tackles off the board in the draft, likely in the second or third round of the draft on Friday.
