Signed: Ty Hamilton

Ohio State's search for defensive linemen in the 2020 class took many different paths but back in the spring things turned very quickly toward Pickerington (Ohio) Central star Ty Hamilton.

With older brother Davon being a valued member of the program, Hamilton was never off the radar of defensive line coach Larry Johnson, but the strides made from sophomore to junior season had the Buckeyes taking an even closer look during the Spring Evaluation Period.

The evaluations led to an offer in late May with Hamilton then setting up official visits to a trio of Big Ten East rivals in Penn State, Ohio State, and Michigan. Hamilton would make the Penn State and Ohio State visits, but ultimately cancelled the Michigan trip and committed to the Buckeyes.

Now Hamilton has signed and is going to get a chance to live out a childhood dream growing up just outside of Columbus.

"It's just an amazing feeling to finally be officially part of the team after watching the team since I’ve been a kid and I’m just blessed to have this opportunity," Hamilton said of signing with the Buckeyes.

Much like his older brother, Hamilton was kind of a late bloomer, growing into his body later in high school and just continuing to work hard and improve. Davon brought a chip on his shoulder to Ohio State as someone who was a bit under-recruited and maybe didn't have the lofty rankings of others in the class. Ty plans to bring that some type of hard-working mentality with him.

"I’m the type of player that most people overlook me but that’s what makes me want to work harder so I can prove them wrong," Hamilton stated. "Since I was young I’ve been raised on taking nothing from anyone and I'm always going to show and prove why I’m here."

Ohio State is bringing in a few versatile defensive linemen in this 2020 class, guys that could project out to a strong-side defensive end or as a three-technique/interior pass rusher. Hamilton falls into that category, but his build is probably more suited for a strong-side end at this point.

One thing to consider is that Hamilton is still on the younger side and has hit a couple of growth spurts during his high school career, so you do have to wonder if he is finished growing or not.

As a senior at Central, Hamilton played primarily as a stand up edge rusher and capped his high school career with an eight tackle, one sack performance in a state championship win.

The best thing you can say about Ty Hamilton is that while some kids plateau early in high school, he has improved every single year both from a technical standpoint and from a physical standpoint. He has added a little bit more to his game each and every year and is the type of kid that will maximize his potential.

A year one contribution is probably not in the cards given the depth that the Buckeyes will be bringing back at defensive end so he'll have a chance to continue to mature physically and learn the defense while not having a ton of pressure applied on him to make an impact right away.