Ohio State Enters Race With Michigan, Penn State Just In Time For 2020 3-Star DL Ty Hamilton

As the younger brother of an Ohio State football player in senior defensive tackle Davon Hamilton, 2020 three-star defensive lineman Ty Hamilton has been back and forth from nearby Pickerington (Ohio) Central to Columbus for the past four years.

But his relationship with the Buckeyes went to another level May 28 when he received an offer from head coach Ryan Day and defensive line coach Larry Johnson.

On the heels of OSU’s increased interest, Hamilton spent Thursday from the Woody Hayes Athletic Center’s outdoor practice fields with Johnson and followed his impressive camp performance in Day’s office to touch base before an important official visit stretch starts up.

“The message was just that everything’s open,” Hamilton said. “(The Hamilton family) just wanted to get and talk, to say hello, because (Day) didn’t get to meet with me when he offered me. So we just wanted to say hello and he was just waiting up for me.”

Before Ohio State entered the equation, two of its main competitors in the Big Ten — Michigan (Jan. 24) and Penn State (March 30) — got involved, leading Hamilton to lock into official visits with all three for the next few weekends.

Hamilton kicks off his trips Friday through Sunday with the Nittany Lions and closes the month as a guest of the Wolverines the weekend of June 21-23.

The Buckeyes offered just in time — he originally had an Indiana official visit set the weekend of June 14-16 but has since substituted OSU for the Hoosiers — lining three Big Ten powerhouses against each other with a commitment announcement expected after all three trips take place.

“At the end of the day, it’s what school’s going to make me the best person and player,” Hamilton said. “It’s about getting my degree and making me the best player I can become and be, at the same time. So it’s not that weird (considering rival schools). It’s the best schools in the nation, so you’ve got to make the best of it.”

Despite the late entrance, Ohio State figures to be in an opportunistic position for Hamilton, whose older brother Davon has developed into a key starter on Johnson’s deep defensive line.

“The big takeaway is just learning from (Johnson) as a coach,” Hamilton said. “Being a possibility of going to Ohio State, just learning how he coaches — how he coaches me, personally — it’s a big decision for me to have that experience with the coaches.”

Davon (6-4, 310) is a far different body type than Ty (6-3, 250) — the 247Sports composite’s No. 864 overall prospect, No. 42 strongside defensive end and No. 29 player out of Ohio — who expects to play at 270 pounds in college.

“They want me to be a strong end or three-tech,” Hamilton said. “So it could be either of those two (positions in college). I feel good about it. I want to be able to play everywhere on the line, so you need to be able to do everything, all around.”

In front of his older brother, who helped work the camp with other Buckeyes defensive linemen and Johnson, Hamilton showed speed and flexibility as he weaved through drills — an experience he hopes translates to his high school games for the fall.

“Football wise, it’s just utilizing what (Johnson) taught me today and bringing it back to my high school — just practicing, practicing, practicing and making it perfect so I can use it on my own,” Hamilton said.

The camp provided Hamilton a unique experience to get individual instruction from Johnson — a potential preview of what might come in 2020, should he announce his commitment in OSU’s favor.

“I just love how he wants everything,” Hamilton said of Johnson. “Everything’s detailed, detailed, detailed. He wants to make his players the best they can be when they get here, so he can make them great players and people at the same time.”

[divider line_type=”Full Width Line” line_thickness=”2″ divider_color=”default”][nectar_btn size=”jumbo” button_style=”regular” button_color_2=”Accent-Color” icon_family=”none” url=”http://www.buckeyesports.com/boards/” text=”Join The Conversation”]