According to coach and recruiting coordinator Eric Johnson (@HawkeyeCoachEJ on Twitter) the Hawkeyes landed 3 new commits today (stories on the other 2 to come later). Shortly after Johnson's first tweet both recruiting sites, Scout and Rivals($), reported that the first commit of the day was Ray Hamilton, a tight end out of Ohio. He is the second tight end to commit for 2011 and the 6th offensive player (here is the full list of Iowa's 2011 commits). Hamilton is rated 3-stars by both Scout and Rivals. He wanted to be sure to go to a school that "definitely knows how to use the tight end" and he was fully aware of Iowa's reputation for putting tight ends in the NFL.

Hamilton in High School

Hamilton attends Strongsville High School in Strongsville, Ohio-a suburb of Cleveland. (Side note: Being an Ohio native he did like OSU, but the Buckeyes didn't offer. When asked about playing OSU in the future he said, "It’s going to be fun, that’s all I have to say...love it or leave it.") The Mustangs were not very good in 2009 winning just 3 games. But they were without Hamilton's services for half of the year as he player only just 6 games before suffering a minor knee injury. In 2008, though, the Mustangs were a lot better finishing 11-2 as the Northeast Ohio Conference Champions.

Stats:
  • 2009 - 22 catches, 300 yards, 5 TDs
  • 2008 - 20 catches, 318 yards, 5 TDs

Video!

His highlight reel is actually pretty exciting. Unlike a lot of guys who are projected at tight end, he actually lines up in the position and has to block in high school. Probably the most promising play I saw is where he gets on a block off the snap then releases across the field as the QB fakes a hand-off then rolls out to find Hamilton down the field (sound familiar??). He is also shown lining up as a receiver and getting open on some short routes. Overall, I like what I see with the 6-5, 230 lb. Hamilton. Schools around the country agree too, as he had over 30 offers. I could definitely see him playing early and often in his career at Iowa.