The Michigan football team welcomed its Class of 2024 this past spring season culminating in the April 20 Spring Game that saw many of the team’s newest contributors hit the field for the first time.
Recently, Michigan projected starting quarterback Alex Orji shared his thoughts on the ‘team-first’ approach that the Wolverines are employing this offseason in an attempt to repeat as national champions.
The Wolverines’ offense is a question mark, but the defense is expected to be arguably the nation’s best with a defensive line consisting of Derrick Moore, Mason Graham, and Kenneth Grant.
Recently, one of the latest and potentially greatest additions to defensive coordinator Wink Martindale’s defensive front, Ted Hammonds, got a shout-out from his father Chris on social media that has fans talking.
Chris Hammond’s post about his son encapsulated the pride and joy he felt watching his son make his dreams a reality, a bright and cheerful footnote on the Wolverines’ 2024 offseason.
Michigan DL’s Father Shares Heartwarming Post
Chris Hammonds’ post was shared on June 3 live from his Twitter account at the Wolverines’ practice facility in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Hammond’s 2024 outlook with Michigan football
Hammond did not appear on the stat sheet of Michigan’s 2024 Spring Game in Ann Arbor but he is thought to have tremendous promise as a future Wolverines defensive lineman.
At 6-foot-5, 258 pounds, Hammond has a similar build to former Wolverine, defensive end and Dearborn Divine Child alumnus Aidan Hutchinson, who made the Pro Bowl last season for the NFL’s Detroit Lions after being drafted number two overall in 2022.
Hammond is one of the Michigan’s most high profile recruits from the state of Ohio in quite some time.
He held offers from prominent college football programs including the Iowa Hawkeyes, Oklahoma Sooners, and Washington Huskies, the team Michigan defeated in the College Football Playoff’s National Championship Game last season.
He is rated as the number 17 prospect in the state of Ohio among all position players, and is listed as a four-star prospect on the 247Sports.com national prospects list for the Class of 2024.
The most recent Michigan football depth chart does not list Hammond among the top three at any defensive line position group, but that could be a positive for Hammond’s development going forward. The southern Ohio native will have plenty of time to lift, run, watch film, and work with the Wolverines’ coaching staff to become the best version of himself over the next few years.
As his father Chris showed with his recent post, the Hammonds family’s love of football runs deep.
Tape of Hammond at St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati, Ohio shows a lineman who plays under control and with great strength.
Michigan DL commit Ted Hammond (@TedHammond14) clogging the middle in the first quarter, assists with the sack. #GoBlue https://t.co/2KEzDddZVQ pic.twitter.com/MakaJCJ4D2
— Zach Libby (@LibbyOn3) August 26, 2023
Hammond projects as a versatile defensive lineman who can play both inside and outside, similar to many of the high performers the Wolverines have had in recent years like Kris Jenkins, Hutchinson, Derrick Moore and Josaiah Stewart, among others.
He shows awareness on special teams with great hands including during the play below during in which he catches a pass on a fake punt. The tape shows a player who fits the Harbaugh/Sherrone Moore mold of versatile performers who can play multiple positions. Hammond appears as a prospect who loves football and will do whatever the coaches ask of him to win games at the next level.
Ted Hammond with the TD catch on the fake punt to tie up the game.
St. Xavier – 14 | St. Ignatius – 14
10:15 – 4th Quarter #GoBombers | #AMDG pic.twitter.com/ODbACd1PGp— Bomber Football (@StXFB) October 14, 2023
The hope now is that Hammond can follow in the footsteps of those Wolverine greats, with his father Chris watching every step along the way.
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