Luke Hamilton, Avon 2024 offensive tackle, commits to Michigan; says Ohio State took him
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State football losing in-state prospects to Michigan after they visited for The Game will never make for good optics.
Avon 2024 offensive tackle Luke Hamilton went a step further in picking the Wolverines on Sunday. Ohio State never actually extended a scholarship offer to the four-star, top-200 prospect. He chose Michigan over offers from a group that included Penn State and Tennessee, as well as several MAC programs and mid or low-tier Power 5s.
Hamilton, though, told the Lorain Morning Journal he felt the Buckeyes took him for granted because he was an in-state prospect. He said his final decision came “After going to Ohio State and seeing how they treated us, and it wasn’t on the good side of treating people.”
Hamilton told the Morning Journal he felt “at home” at Michigan even before receiving an offer.
“Going to Ohio State, I was kind of on edge on whether they were going to treat me good or are they going to treat me bad,” Hamilton said in the interview. “As soon as I walked in the door, I could tell there was not good energy.”
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Per 247 Sports, Hamilton is ranked eighth nationally among 2024′s offensive tackles — a position of significant long-term need for Ohio State. It has one offensive line commitment for the 2024 class in New Palestine, Indiana’s, Ian Moore, though he projects on the interior. The Buckeyes do have a top-50 2023 tackle commitment from Findlay’s Luke Montgomery, as well as three-star Miles Walker of Connecticut in the same class.
Ohio State may also have had legitimate evaluation reasons not to offer Hamilton. Maybe the vibe was just off an personalities did not mesh.
His development, though, becomes one to watch. His commitment came one day after two players OSU recruited but ultimately passed on — quarterback J.J. McCarthy and running back Donovan Edwards — shredded the Buckeyes in Ohio Stadium.
Maybe Hamilton will not come back to haunt OSU in The Game. He certainly sounds motivated to make the staff take notice of him on the field.
Hamilton was the second Ohio prospect to pick Michigan this weekend after visiting for The Game. Winton Woods 2023 three-star cornerback Cameron Calhoun was the other.
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