Ty Hamilton is ready to explode on defense (and blow up offensive lines) this season
Jami Jurich via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
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After a breakout year in 2023, the senior defensive tackle is ready to cause a little commotion for his opponents.
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Despite finishing the 2023 season on a high note, defensive tackle Ty Hamilton still has unfinished business at
Ohio State—those are his words, not mine.
Back in January, he cited “some unfinished business that needs to be taken care of for the brotherhood” as the driving force behind his decision to return to OSU for a fifth season rather than declaring for the
NFL Draft.
Now, the time has come for Hamilton to finish the job.
Though Hamilton, the younger brother of DaVon Hamilton, who played for the Buckeyes from 2015-2019, was a bit of a late bloomer, he had a stellar finish to the 2023 season, breaking out in the final month. The 6-foot-3, 295-pound senior from Pickerington, Ohio, is hoping to expand on the momentum he started, playing in all 13 games last season and starting in the final eight of them.
Though Hamilton split reps with Michael Hall, Jr., who departed for the NFL at the end of last season, Hamilton hit his stride in the final month of the 2023 season, registering 19 of his 38 tackles on the year in the last five games.
During that same window, he also recorded his two sacks and a career-high six tackles against
Rutgers in the first week of November before matching his career-high tackles in the
Cotton Bowl loss against Missouri.
He has his work cut out for him this season, but he won’t have to do it alone. Fellow veteran defensive tackle Tyleik Williams and Hamilton believe they can tag-team the job, and motivation certainly won’t be an issue for the duo, who have already nicknamed themselves “TNT” as a nod to their names (both starting with “T”) and the explosiveness they hope to bring to the field.
Together, Hamilton and Williams are ready to serve not just as a key part of the Buckeyes’ defensive scheme but also to step into leadership roles as veterans. They’ll be tasked with covering the interior of a defensive line that is largely considered the best in the country.
Hamilton, for his part, has spent the offseason improving his pass rush, and he brings an intense physicality to the position, something that will be critical to the success of the Buckeyes’ elite defense. His ability to shut down opponents’ run games from the middle opens up opportunities for the defense, which should help them get opposing offenses off the field quickly or even potentially force costly turnovers.
But the other side of this explosiveness is patience, the ability to bide your time and let the play unfold before you unleash the explosion.
Hamilton finally has enough experience to lead the way on this front.
When they open the season against Akron on Saturday, the Buckeyes will find themselves grossly mismatched—they are a 50.5-point favorite in the game against the Zips. But not every team they’ll face will be Akron, and the Buckeyes will require Hamilton’s leadership if they’re going to effectively disrupt more daring offenses than they’ll face in Week 1.
His power, strength, and improved ability to cover the run down the middle should help him—and the Buckeye defense at large—rise to the challenge.
If he can make good on these improvements, he should be a real thorn in the side of his opponents. Should you hear the sound of explosions come out of Columbus, it just might be the sound of Hamilton bringing home the hardware he and his teammates are after.
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