I could not be more impressed. Just as personable as Wiggins. I hope he sticks and moves up the coach buying staff. Best story: when he was recruited he got a half page story in his small town town newspaper about it. The Kevin Jones committed and was on the front page of his own home town newspaper.
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Please consider word choice in title. I about had a sad.
Yikes sorry...and my first topic post too
What'd it say?
Justin Hamilton killed it at the NOVA recruiting event
Actually one more funny story was someone I the crowd announcing that Cunningham committed and asking him to comment. Of, course he couldn't comment, since not officially signed
He is a very awesome person. He was a very unselfish player.
+1
He was the definition of a team player. Guy switched positions multiple times. Hope to see him kick ass a VT coach and move on up on our staff.
I'm not usually in the "let's just hire assistants who were Hokies camp", but I'd be fine if Fuente/Bud dumped Nix and Mitchell and rolled the dice with LJ and J-Hamm.
If we're ever in a spot where Mitchell is still on the staff and Hamilton isn't, I'll be sad. More I learn about J-Hamm, the more I'm impressed and the more I wonder if he wouldn't actually be an upgrade.
I would be fine with Jack Tylerand Hamilton.
Seconded
If I have ever seen a post that NEEDS to go plaid, this is the one!
He's a great guy and was a great athlete back in the day. Glad he's doing well. I think he's got a bright future and is an asset for the Hokies for sure.
Justin Hamilton is the perfect example of a player sticking with the program, toiling away for the good of the team, and being rewarded in the end.
IIRC, Hamilton came in as a running back, couldn't get much playing time, moved to receiver, moved back to running back, and only in his senior year made the move to safety and ended up having a great year and was drafted and had a brief NFL career.
This is probably going to come off as an old-man "back in my day" sounding comment, but when I see guys bailing from the program at the slightest hint of adversity, I think of guys like Hamilton and Bryan Randall, who became all-time great Hokies because of their steadfastness, and just shake my head.
I agree. Perseverance is a powerful thing.
old man tested, old man approved!
+100. Could put Dave Meyer, Brendan Motley, and a bunch of others of that mold in there too.
I honestly don't get it. Most of these guys transfering - if they have NFL talent would be able to showcase it at VT. If you can't get the playing time at VT, you probably aren't going to get a shot a the pros. So, stick it out with the brothers you care to play with. Enjoy a great college experience, get a valuable degree and hit the real world with arms wide open. Where's Rudy?
Just my 2 cents.
Looked good as a RB vs Southern Cal.
Was interfered with on deep ball to beat Pitt in 2003 but didn't get the call.
I cant remember a specific play at DB, but he was solid.
oh god those are two games i did not need to remember tonight.
Yes, but as someone else mentioned below, he did admit that despite how much he loved and still loves Tech, if the transfer portal were a thing when he was in college, he couldn't honestly say he wouldn't have at least entertained the thought of entering his name, when he was being shuffled around. As he mentioned several times last night, the transfer portal has really changed things a lot; I think much more than the NCAA or the schools anticipated. Justin called it the "wild, wild west" of recruiting since now you can have kids who are under scholarship and living at one school and get an "in-home visit" from another school. And think about how many players are roommates with other players -- so you could have Penn State, Miami, or in the apartment living room pitching the player who is in the transfer portal and his roommate could be in the living room too. I'm sure no program would improperly have contact with a player who hasn't put their name in the portal though, right ....
Will be interesting to see what tweaks are made this summer. There will definitely be some changes coming, and probably some more rules put into place surrounding that process.
Imagine how Galen Scott and Stinespring feel coming back to Blacksburg to recruit kids in the portal like Hill, who I think will end up at ODU.
Yes, he was a rb in high school. Honestly, he was a bit soft as well. I remember thinking he'll never last at Tech because he wasn't tough enough. He truly proved me completely wrong. Changed positions, especially to defense, where he showed aggressiveness and a tough side, along with humility and perseverance.
Glad he is successful and hope he is able to mold lives the way he grew up and matured.
Glad he presents well.
In spite of the doom and gloom crew on this site, we really do have an excellent coaching staff.
He was the interim coach after Galen left. Little surprised Bud didn't want him to stay in that role.
Any little nuggets we should know about after tonight?
He is high on Devon hunter
He said that during stretch line he always checks in on him and when one time pulled him aside to tell Devon his story about feeling like a man with no position.
Justin also made a comment that if the transfer portal was around when he was a player, he can't tell us that he would not have at least entertain the idea because of his situation.
High on him in the secondary or high on him at RB or some other position? I really really really hope to see Hunter grab a starters spot this year as his athleticism is off the charts.
Cornelsen said Hunter would be on defense. Didn't even mention him when talking about running backs getting work in the spring.
Justin confirmed defense last night as well. I didn't take anything from his comments that a position change was completely off the table down the road necessarily- he didn't really address that specifically but clear that plan is for Devon to be on defense this spring.
I also personally didn't take Justin's comments last night that he was "high" on Hunter necessarily but it was clear he really likes Devon and is rooting for him to succeed. I think his exact phrasing was "I believe in Devon".
I hear he's gaining weight to play DT...
Could Hunter challenge Floyd this year? I wasn't all that impressed with Floyd last season.
He was asked where Hunter was going to begin spring practice, and his answer was defense. Said during the fall they ran into an injury / illness situation with the backup RBs and needed a scout team RB, and that Hunter stepped up to help the team out.
I liked his comments about Fuga. Said that when they are looking at recruits they look at a highlight package and then put together a lowlight package (play a where low effort was made). They couldn't find any for Fuga! Also he kept calling Bowick and Pinckney running backs that play wr...as in, hard to bring down and a lot of yac
JHam is a great Hokie and an even better person. I was so glad when he joined the staff. A good role model for the players.
He's just a genuine person. I was at VT same time he was, met him a few times, and he was just a nice as everyone is saying. Combine that with how his football career went (struggled for playing time, worked hard, made it the NFL), how could you not want him on your staff? High character guys like that should always have a place somewhere.
I was able to talk with him for awhile last night. Between that conversation and the way he handled the event (providing commentary on all the signees as well as fielding all the Q&A), I came away very impressed with him. Dynamic personality and very intelligent and thoughtful in his responses. And remember, he was not supposed to be the speaker at this event. He only found out last Friday or Saturday that he would be filling in at the event due to Wiggins' departure.
He will get an assistant coach job sooner than later somewhere. Would love for it to be at Tech (and I'm not one who pulls for every hire to be a Tech alum).
DC, did he address any rumors regarding division within the team? Seems like it was a fun time. I hope Justin stays with the hokies and works his way up to being a position coach.