A different breed of TE

By Nick Leach

Photo from Scout.com

Over the decade we have witnessed the tight end position revolutionize itself into an increasingly important aspect of the passing game. Gone are the days of them becoming the 6th member of the offensive line. Current tight ends still need to be able to block, especially at the 2nd level, but they also need to be able to stretch the field to open up the offensive schemes. At 6’5 and 220 lbs., Ray Hamilton has the size and frame that will translate to the next level. With deceptive speed and strong catching abilities, it’s no wonder every major conference has offered the talented recruit out of Strongsville, Ohio. We had the chance to sit down and talk with Ray and peek into how his recruitment has been shaping up after a batch of new and impressive offers.

The Strongsville Mustangs had a very successful 2008 campaign as they made it to the regional finals of the Division I playoffs (big school division) before falling to the eventual state champion St. Ignatius Wildcats. After a disappointing 3-7 year in 2009, Ray expects the Mustangs to make a strong return on the Friday night scene. “Our goal is to definitely to win a conference championship of the Northeast Ohio Conference like we did two years ago, some key losses so some key players are going to have to step up but definitely some good expectations for next year.” This is one very important feature to mention while watching game film on Hamilton. The Northeast Ohio Conference is one of the strongest in Ohio, so his on-field success is that much more impressive.

This offseason Hamilton has been hard at work to get better, both physically and mentally. He’s been putting in the hours watching film in a determined effort to get better at understanding coverages and finding the holes in the defense. To put that knowledge to use he’s been working hard on his lower body to get better explosion off the ball and that should help him as he develops as a pass blocker. Classroom work comes as nothing new to him as he is currently carrying a 3.4 GPA and plans to take the ACT/SAT entrance exams in April.

One of the important aspects to Ray in deciding on a school is how those offenses utilize the tight end position. Iowa has been one school he has brought up in the past, but not the only one. “I don’t have any favorites right now, but the Wisconsin’s, Iowa’s, Oklahoma’s, Boston College, I mean schools like that who definitely know how to use the tight end interest me but there are a lot of schools that know how to use them well.” One school that hasn’t used the tight end like some others has been his local college, Ohio State, but he noted he wasn’t too concerned about that schools use of the position.

There have been two schools that have recently offered and caught his attention; this is what he had to say on that, “Michigan is very well known, not in the past couple years but the program itself and how dominant they are. I think Coach Rodriguez is doing a good job on getting them back to where they need to be. It was definitely a special offer. And then Oklahoma, they just jump out to you as a big time program. They know how to use the tight end too, they just dominate the Big XII. You just look at the guys they are sending to the NFL, it’s a big time school.”

Has the recent recruiting ranking hoopla gotten to his head? Not at all. When asked about Scout’s recent ranking of him as one of the top 6 TE’s in the country, he took it as an honor but nothing to get caught up in. “It’s cool you know, but you don’t want to read too much into that at the same time. You are getting recruited and trying not to get too caught up in that and just focus on getting better on the field.”

Currently he has no favorites and hasn’t decided on giving any schools a definite official visit yet, so the recruiting process will continue to move on for Ray and he’s in no rush to end it. Lately there have been some rumors floating around the internet (Shocking! Impossible!) that Ray wasn’t too high on OSU and we gave him a chance to address those. “No I haven’t heard those rumors, but I can tell you those are not true. I am definitely interested in Ohio State and I keep in touch with Coach Johnson and we have a good relationship. I’ve known him since my freshman or sophomore year so that is definitely not true.”

All intentions appear to be that Ray will take his time while making this decision. He’ll be visiting the west coast later this year to stop by Cal, UCLA, Stanford and USC. With his skill set and intelligence it’s no wonder that so many schools are after a class act such as he is. With a solid off-season and strong season, the recruiting nation can expect to continue to see Ray Hamilton in the top echelon of tight end prospects.