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STRENGTHS
By all means, I am not a scout or college football coach, but you can tell when a player impacts what is happening on the field. Hamm indeed made one on Thursday night inside Bank of Sun Prairie Stadium at Ashley Field. As a tangent, the new stadium is gorgeous. I need to cover 2021 signee Jackson Acker and see Verona’s new impressive edifice soon enough.
Sun Prairie’s totals, based off of their Hudl stats of the 42-8 win over Beloit Memorial, show him as having two tackles, both for loss, along with a sack. He appeared to line up as an interior defensive lineman than on the outside vastly more often than not, but if you notice the first highlight from the above video in this article, he comes off the edge in an apparent 40-front in what was nearly a forced fumble (as seen in the video, it was ruled incomplete). He mentioned that the Cardinals were playing in a slide technique; thus, him working more as a defensive tackle.
“I would say, really, when you play on the inside -- when you get a big guard and a center hitting you -- it's about staying low,” Hamm told BadgerBlitz.com on Thursday night. “It’s about being gritty. The edge is more finesse, technique, all that kind of stuff so you kind of got to adjust your game week-to-week, but regardless, you got to know what gets your job done.”
Hamm displayed an ability and a knack for getting in the backfield quick and creating havoc along with an ability to take on blockers and shed them. It also appeared that he needed to take on multiple linemen in double-team situations, based on my recollection.
Maybe what impressed me the most was the fact Hamm continued to work and hustle despite the score becoming more lopsided series-by-series. Even up by several scores, he got into the backfield and forced the Beloit Memorial quarterback to throw it away (I would have credited him with a quarterback hurry).
AREAS OF GROWTH
So with all that, high school football is weird depending upon the opponent you face, right? Beloit Memorial came into this modified spring season fresh off a 38-0 loss to Middleton the week prior.
Sun Prairie had a six-score lead by intermission, and Hamm played only one half -- and an extremely good one at that. Thus, seeing a “full" game's worth of snaps from him eluded me, and that was obviously nothing of his fault due to the one-sided nature of the contest. Heading out of the stadium last night, I felt very similarly to watching four-star lineman Jack Nelson and Stoughton dominate a rebuilding Edgewood program in 2019. You know Nelson was very good then. You know Hamm is really good now, and he is part of the reason the Cardinals' defense has given up just eight points in two games. I want to check out Verona vs. Sun Prairie or Middleton vs. Sun Prairie in the coming weeks to catch him again.
Hamm attempted a couple of spin moves to disengage with blockers on Thursday night, by my recollection. It will be interesting to see how he develops that more.
RECRUITING
Hamm declared his top four programs in mid-November, which included Wisconsin, Penn State, Notre Dame and Ohio State (in no order). His recruiting process has “been great,” according to the lineman.
“I've been really open with the colleges I want to talk to,” Hamm said. “Those Final Four have all been great, showing love. And so right now I'm focused on being out here with my guys, playing high school football, but the recruiting’s going great as well.”
However, there is some news on this front. Hamm has set up an official visit to Wisconsin on June 6, according to the 2022 recruit.
Hamm also stated that he spoke with new defensive line coach Ross Kolodziej about 20 minutes before Thursday night’s kickoff via FaceTime. There has been frequent conversation between he and Wisconsin, which also includes texting.
“We were talking about the game plan tonight, everything I'm going to be doing, where I'm playing on the line so been building a great relationship with those dudes,” Hamm said. “They show unconditional love, so every day I'm on the phone with them. Great people, great people, man.”
In terms of comparing the frequency of communication between he and his other Final Four programs, Hamm "would say Wisconsin has definitely been the most."
"I would say that I've definitely been in pretty close contact with the rest of those three schools, but I would say Wisconsin has been taking a lead, and I have been in contact with them the most," Hamm said. "That doesn't mean anything, but they have been in touch with me the most out of anybody so far."
As for a decision, the 2022 recruit wants to make it after his junior season and he is “still sticking to that.”
“Right now, I'm focused on just balling out here with my guys and when the decision comes, it comes.”
STRENGTHS
By all means, I am not a scout or college football coach, but you can tell when a player impacts what is happening on the field. Hamm indeed made one on Thursday night inside Bank of Sun Prairie Stadium at Ashley Field. As a tangent, the new stadium is gorgeous. I need to cover 2021 signee Jackson Acker and see Verona’s new impressive edifice soon enough.
Sun Prairie’s totals, based off of their Hudl stats of the 42-8 win over Beloit Memorial, show him as having two tackles, both for loss, along with a sack. He appeared to line up as an interior defensive lineman than on the outside vastly more often than not, but if you notice the first highlight from the above video in this article, he comes off the edge in an apparent 40-front in what was nearly a forced fumble (as seen in the video, it was ruled incomplete). He mentioned that the Cardinals were playing in a slide technique; thus, him working more as a defensive tackle.
“I would say, really, when you play on the inside -- when you get a big guard and a center hitting you -- it's about staying low,” Hamm told BadgerBlitz.com on Thursday night. “It’s about being gritty. The edge is more finesse, technique, all that kind of stuff so you kind of got to adjust your game week-to-week, but regardless, you got to know what gets your job done.”
Hamm displayed an ability and a knack for getting in the backfield quick and creating havoc along with an ability to take on blockers and shed them. It also appeared that he needed to take on multiple linemen in double-team situations, based on my recollection.
Maybe what impressed me the most was the fact Hamm continued to work and hustle despite the score becoming more lopsided series-by-series. Even up by several scores, he got into the backfield and forced the Beloit Memorial quarterback to throw it away (I would have credited him with a quarterback hurry).
AREAS OF GROWTH
So with all that, high school football is weird depending upon the opponent you face, right? Beloit Memorial came into this modified spring season fresh off a 38-0 loss to Middleton the week prior.
Sun Prairie had a six-score lead by intermission, and Hamm played only one half -- and an extremely good one at that. Thus, seeing a “full" game's worth of snaps from him eluded me, and that was obviously nothing of his fault due to the one-sided nature of the contest. Heading out of the stadium last night, I felt very similarly to watching four-star lineman Jack Nelson and Stoughton dominate a rebuilding Edgewood program in 2019. You know Nelson was very good then. You know Hamm is really good now, and he is part of the reason the Cardinals' defense has given up just eight points in two games. I want to check out Verona vs. Sun Prairie or Middleton vs. Sun Prairie in the coming weeks to catch him again.
Hamm attempted a couple of spin moves to disengage with blockers on Thursday night, by my recollection. It will be interesting to see how he develops that more.
RECRUITING
Hamm declared his top four programs in mid-November, which included Wisconsin, Penn State, Notre Dame and Ohio State (in no order). His recruiting process has “been great,” according to the lineman.
“I've been really open with the colleges I want to talk to,” Hamm said. “Those Final Four have all been great, showing love. And so right now I'm focused on being out here with my guys, playing high school football, but the recruiting’s going great as well.”
However, there is some news on this front. Hamm has set up an official visit to Wisconsin on June 6, according to the 2022 recruit.
Hamm also stated that he spoke with new defensive line coach Ross Kolodziej about 20 minutes before Thursday night’s kickoff via FaceTime. There has been frequent conversation between he and Wisconsin, which also includes texting.
“We were talking about the game plan tonight, everything I'm going to be doing, where I'm playing on the line so been building a great relationship with those dudes,” Hamm said. “They show unconditional love, so every day I'm on the phone with them. Great people, great people, man.”
In terms of comparing the frequency of communication between he and his other Final Four programs, Hamm "would say Wisconsin has definitely been the most."
"I would say that I've definitely been in pretty close contact with the rest of those three schools, but I would say Wisconsin has been taking a lead, and I have been in contact with them the most," Hamm said. "That doesn't mean anything, but they have been in touch with me the most out of anybody so far."
As for a decision, the 2022 recruit wants to make it after his junior season and he is “still sticking to that.”
“Right now, I'm focused on just balling out here with my guys and when the decision comes, it comes.”
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