Hamm takes different path to D-I

When you play junior college football you almost always have a story. Some times, it’s simply that you were overlooked in high school. Some times, it’s that you didn’t have grades. Or if it’s like Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College redshirt defensive end Jonathan Hamm it was that you were a star basketball player in high school.

It was that basketball career that took him on a journey that has led him to Coffeyville and become a highly-recruited football prospect.

You see, Hamm, who is 6-foot-6 and 255 pounds, was playing basketball at Middle Georgia when he was discovered by a football scout. The discovery happened when he was out running sprints in the street with his friends, because honestly there was nothing else to do in Cochran, Ga.

“We were just out there running, and I was faster than anybody else,” Hamm said. “Then this scout came up to me and said ‘you need to get off that basketball court and start playing football.’ He told me that I could be a rich man some day.”

At first that advice didn’t sink in, but eventually it did and that caused Hamm to transfer to Cerritos Junior College in California. That’s where he learned the game of football and played tight end for a season.

However, Hamm felt like he was not on the right track academically and he wasn’t sure that he would be eligible to play on the Division I level if he stayed there. So he transferred to Coffeyville, where he’s now redshirting, making the move to defense and preparing himself to become the next big thing on the Division I level.

“He’s just a physical freak,” Coffeyville assistant coach Sean Cericho said. “He tested at a combine in California, and he ran a 4.51 and a 4.59 at 260 pounds. He also had a 35-inch vertical leap. We got him in here and he practiced for about 12 days at defensive end, and it was obvious to us that he has the special tools to be an instant impact on the Division I level.”

But to get him to that level, he needed to be redshirted this year, so he can get the academic part out of the way.

“The redshirt is also allowing him to work and get stronger as a run stopper,” Cherico said. “We play in a run dominated conference, and he’s such a great pass rusher, that he almost would get wasted. So we decided to redshirt him and allow him to get stronger and better for the college coaches.”

And the college coaches are definitely interested. Cherico said that A&M assistant coach Stan Eggen played a role in helping get Hamm to Coffeyville and the Aggies are showing major interest, along with Kansas State, Southern Illinois and Missouri.

Hamm still doesn’t have an official scholarship offer, but he’s taken an unofficial visit to Manhattan to watch the Wildcats play earlier this season.

In the end, Cherico agrees that whatever team lands Hamm will get a big-time steal - even though he has two years to play two seasons.

“He’ll be one of these guys that come out of nowhere and become a star in college,” Cherico said.