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hamilton ideally puts injury rap away at redskins training camp
BY BEN STANDIG | JUNE 20, 2018
REDSKINS PARK — Shaun Dion Hamilton is a former University of Alabama inside linebacker who suffered two serious knee injuries late in his college career. He now plies his trade with the Redskins after Washington selected him in the sixth round of the 2018 NFL Draft. The team took the cautious route with the Alabama native during spring workouts. It’s why evaluating the defender’s game isn’t simple for now – unless you ask Hamilton directly.
“When I’m healthy, I’m a very bad man,” Hamilton told The Sports Capitol. “Everybody knows that.”
That’s a bold statement for a player who was selected 197th overall and isn’t all the way back physically. It also might be highly accurate.
“100 percent,” Redskins defensive lineman Jonathan Allen said of the truth behind Hamilton’s self-assessment.
Allen’s take comes with bias and insight. The two were teammates for three years with the Crimson Tide. While Allen racked up sacks, Hamilton gobbled up tackles. The physical presence had 64 including nine for loss during the 2016 season before tearing his right ACL in the SEC championship game.
While Allen matriculated to the NFL in 2017 as the Redskins’ first-round pick, Hamilton recovered to play the first nine games of the season for Alabama when a right kneecap fracture ended his campaign. Hamilton’s draft stock dropped in the eyes of NFL evaluators – but not to the player who saw the very bad man do very good things for the Crimson Tide defense.
“He’s going to bring a lot,” Allen said of Hamilton to The Sports Capitol. “When the pads come on at training camp a lot of people are going to be really surprised. He doesn’t really look physically imposing because he’s smaller than what you normally see. He’s going to turn some heads. No doubt in my mind, he’s going to turn some heads.”
It does not appear the patient coaching staff requires much convincing. Defensive coordinator Greg Manusky, in response to a generic question during Organized Team Activities (OTA) about his evaluation of the rookies, singled out first-round pick Daron Payne, yet another Alabama product, and Hamilton.
“Impressed with Shaun Dion,” Manusky said. “He’s learning the calls. He’s getting in there. We are kind of protecting him a little bit with the injury he had in college, but he’s looking good. So we are happy with what we see.”
As the Redskins concluded their spring workouts with last week’s two-day minicamp, Hamilton told The Sports Capitol he was pleased with his progress.
“It feels real good. I was kind of limited here early on,” he said. “As time went on I started to get more and more reps. I know deep down inside what kind of player I am. I know what I can do when I’m healthy. That’s another thing. I’ll have to stay on my P’s and Q’s to stay healthy.”
The X’s and O’s aspect shouldn’t be an issue for the George Washington Carver High School valedictorian. The NFL.com pre-draft scouting report of Hamilton included the bullet point, “very smart and called the ‘brains behind the operation’ on the field.”
It doesn’t require a 4.0 GPA to recognize the roster opportunity. Zach Brown and Mason Foster will start. Last season the Redskins typically kept three ILB reserves. Will Compton did not return. Martrell Spaight, Zach Vigil and 2017 Day 3 selection Josh Harvey-Clemons did. Harvey-Clemons ran with the starters during spring practices when Brown skipped non-mandatory sessions. Spaight, himself a one-time late-round selection loaded with promise, enters his fourth season with a spotty resume.
Another former Alabama player, Ryan Anderson, is poised for a larger role at outside linebacker.
Hamilton, barring a heartbreaking injury trifecta, gets one of the ILB spots. It won’t be because of pity or pure upside. By the time Redskins hit training camp in Richmond next month, the 228-pounder believes he will be back to normal physically.
“I know the past few days I felt like I was 95 (percent). I can see the light. I’m leaving minicamp knowing that I didn’t show (everything). I’m getting back to my old self.”
BY BEN STANDIG | JUNE 20, 2018
REDSKINS PARK — Shaun Dion Hamilton is a former University of Alabama inside linebacker who suffered two serious knee injuries late in his college career. He now plies his trade with the Redskins after Washington selected him in the sixth round of the 2018 NFL Draft. The team took the cautious route with the Alabama native during spring workouts. It’s why evaluating the defender’s game isn’t simple for now – unless you ask Hamilton directly.
“When I’m healthy, I’m a very bad man,” Hamilton told The Sports Capitol. “Everybody knows that.”
That’s a bold statement for a player who was selected 197th overall and isn’t all the way back physically. It also might be highly accurate.
“100 percent,” Redskins defensive lineman Jonathan Allen said of the truth behind Hamilton’s self-assessment.
Allen’s take comes with bias and insight. The two were teammates for three years with the Crimson Tide. While Allen racked up sacks, Hamilton gobbled up tackles. The physical presence had 64 including nine for loss during the 2016 season before tearing his right ACL in the SEC championship game.
While Allen matriculated to the NFL in 2017 as the Redskins’ first-round pick, Hamilton recovered to play the first nine games of the season for Alabama when a right kneecap fracture ended his campaign. Hamilton’s draft stock dropped in the eyes of NFL evaluators – but not to the player who saw the very bad man do very good things for the Crimson Tide defense.
“He’s going to bring a lot,” Allen said of Hamilton to The Sports Capitol. “When the pads come on at training camp a lot of people are going to be really surprised. He doesn’t really look physically imposing because he’s smaller than what you normally see. He’s going to turn some heads. No doubt in my mind, he’s going to turn some heads.”
It does not appear the patient coaching staff requires much convincing. Defensive coordinator Greg Manusky, in response to a generic question during Organized Team Activities (OTA) about his evaluation of the rookies, singled out first-round pick Daron Payne, yet another Alabama product, and Hamilton.
“Impressed with Shaun Dion,” Manusky said. “He’s learning the calls. He’s getting in there. We are kind of protecting him a little bit with the injury he had in college, but he’s looking good. So we are happy with what we see.”
As the Redskins concluded their spring workouts with last week’s two-day minicamp, Hamilton told The Sports Capitol he was pleased with his progress.
“It feels real good. I was kind of limited here early on,” he said. “As time went on I started to get more and more reps. I know deep down inside what kind of player I am. I know what I can do when I’m healthy. That’s another thing. I’ll have to stay on my P’s and Q’s to stay healthy.”
The X’s and O’s aspect shouldn’t be an issue for the George Washington Carver High School valedictorian. The NFL.com pre-draft scouting report of Hamilton included the bullet point, “very smart and called the ‘brains behind the operation’ on the field.”
It doesn’t require a 4.0 GPA to recognize the roster opportunity. Zach Brown and Mason Foster will start. Last season the Redskins typically kept three ILB reserves. Will Compton did not return. Martrell Spaight, Zach Vigil and 2017 Day 3 selection Josh Harvey-Clemons did. Harvey-Clemons ran with the starters during spring practices when Brown skipped non-mandatory sessions. Spaight, himself a one-time late-round selection loaded with promise, enters his fourth season with a spotty resume.
Another former Alabama player, Ryan Anderson, is poised for a larger role at outside linebacker.
Hamilton, barring a heartbreaking injury trifecta, gets one of the ILB spots. It won’t be because of pity or pure upside. By the time Redskins hit training camp in Richmond next month, the 228-pounder believes he will be back to normal physically.
“I know the past few days I felt like I was 95 (percent). I can see the light. I’m leaving minicamp knowing that I didn’t show (everything). I’m getting back to my old self.”
