Ryan Day Sees Ty Hamilton As All-Big Ten-Caliber Defensive Tackle, “Great Example” for Ohio State Teammates

Hamilton garnered recognition from Ohio State’s coaching staff this week when he was named the Buckeyes’ defensive player of the game for their 56-0 win over Western Michigan. Hamilton recorded four tackles within three yards of the line of scrimmage, including a combined sack with fellow defensive tackle Tyleik Williams, and received a 96% grade-out from the coaches – meaning the coaches determined he executed his assignment effectively on all but one of his 27 snaps against the Broncos.

: @tyhamilton__ pic.twitter.com/yNXER1Qlon

— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) September 8, 2024

Going into the game, OSU coaches identified his matchup with Western Michigan center Jacob Gideon – a 2023 first-team All-MAC honoree viewed as a potential 2025 NFL draft pick – as a key battle in the game. Gideon’s night lasted just two plays, however, as he left the game with an injury after Hamilton knocked him straight backward before taking WMU running back Zahir Abdus-Salaam down for no gain.

Gideon’s departure from the game didn’t necessarily make life easy for Hamilton, as Western Michigan slid right guard Addison West – also considered one of the MAC’s best offensive linemen – over to center for the rest of the night. But Hamilton continued to dominate, leading the way up front for Ohio State’s defense to earn its first shutout since 2019 while holding the Broncos to just 99 total yards, including just 28 rushing yards on 31 rushing attempts.

Ryan Day believes All-Big Ten voters should take notice if Hamilton continues to play as well as he did in Week 2.

“If he can continue to play and take off from where he was on Saturday night, then you're looking at an all-conference player for sure,” Day said Tuesday.

Hamilton has been a regular in Ohio State’s defensive tackle rotation since his redshirt freshman season in 2021, but he’s playing his biggest role yet this year as the Buckeyes’ full-time starting nose tackle. And Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles believes Hamilton is performing at a different level than he has in previous seasons.

“He's been making an impact since I've been here, but he has developed into a dominant player,” Knowles said this week. “He's a guy that can control the interior of the line of scrimmage, and that's a big deal. I've always said when your defensive tackles make tackles, it allows you to do other things in coverage and how many people you commit down to the box. Ty is quiet, but he's like a cold-blooded gentleman. He really is a force that I think is sometimes maybe difficult to see, but when you watch the tape, he is knocking people back and really just creating some difficult situations for the offense.”

It would be nothing new for a Hamilton brother to go from a quality role player on Ohio State’s interior defensive line to an All-Big Ten honoree as a fifth-year senior. That’s exactly what Ty’s older brother DaVon did in 2019, earning third-team all-conference honors as he recorded 28 total tackles with 10.5 tackles for loss and six sacks in his most productive season as a Buckeye by far.

Ty Hamilton was productive last season, recording 38 tackles with 4.5 tackles for loss and two sacks, but didn’t get a ton of attention as he was overshadowed by Williams, Ohio State defensive ends Jack Sawyer and JT Tuimoloau and Mike Hall Jr., who he rotated with at nose tackle in 2023. Ohio State defensive line coach Larry Johnson felt like Hamilton could have gone to the NFL after last season, but he’s grateful that Hamilton decided to stay in Columbus for another year with Sawyer, Tuimoloau and Williams.

“I think Ty came back because he realized that, ‘I've got some unfinished business,’” Johnson said in August. “And I think that's just remarkable that he's still here because he's done a great job for us.”

Johnson also described Hamilton this spring as a “sleeping giant,” showing his belief that Hamilton deserved more credit than he had gotten. One of the reasons Day appreciates Hamilton as much as he does, though, is because Hamilton focuses on doing his job for the team rather than earning individual accolades.

“He's not somebody that garners a whole bunch of attention or makes it about him. He's the ultimate team player,” Day said. “He doesn't say a whole lot, but he goes to work every day and you can just count on him to be there. And those are the people that a great team needs; a foundation of people who are unselfish, hard-working, understand what it means to be a Buckeye. And now he's become a very, very good player.”

Hamilton said in August that he didn’t feel the need to toot his own horn because he was confident his play would speak for itself.

“I don't talk too much, but I just let my play do what it does,” Hamilton said. “So I don't have to say much, but I'm going to have you feel me while I'm on the field.”

He says his confidence and knowledge of the game are the biggest difference that allow him to make a bigger impact now than he did in his earlier years as a Buckeye.

“Being out there and knowing exactly what I'm going to do and knowing what my opponents are going to do allows me to play better and play faster,” said Hamilton, who has eight tackles through two games this year.

Despite his quiet nature, Hamilton has become a leader along the defensive line in the eyes of his teammates.

“I'd say Ty is definitely more of a leader now,” Williams said in August. “He leads the whole D-line, the whole interior. He's that head guy you go to if you need advice for anything. And he leads as a great example for the young guys.”

“If he can continue to play and take off from where he was on Saturday night, then you're looking at an all-conference player for sure.”– Ryan Day on Ty Hamilton and his play vs. Western Michigan

The “great example” descriptor is one that Day also used while talking about Hamilton, a native of nearby Pickerington, Ohio, during his radio show on Thursday. He sees Hamilton as a player that other Buckeyes can look to as an example of how hard work can pay off even for players who don’t become immediate stars at Ohio State. 

“This is a great example of somebody who is from Ohio, who put a lot of great work into the program. Put blood, sweat, and tears in. And has now become a very, very good football player,” Day said. “He saw his brother go through the same process. But he's his own guy. And he doesn't say a whole lot, but lets his play do the talking.

“And he's just been consistent. He's been durable. He's been somebody that we can count on. And it wasn't just that second play of the game. He was all over the place. He's worked really, really hard every day. Doesn't make it about him. Great team player. The guys on the team have so much respect for Ty. 

“And to see him playing like this is excellent, because it gives credibility to the fact that if you just continue to work every single day and keep stacking these days and keep grinding and keep growing and push through struggle and embrace those setbacks that you can learn from them, you can be a really good football player, and that’s where Ty’s at right now.”