This week Michigan landed their first 2024 recruit in some time in DL Ted Hammond from Ohio. Hammond's recruitment moved pretty quickly and when rumors initially broke that the Wolverines would be getting a commitment from Ohio, there were several other players top of mind that were more likely to be the commit than Hammond, simply because they'd been recruited for much longer. Instead it was Hammond, a name who only started to be circulated recently, and it didn't take long for Jim Harbaugh to get the job done. Today we will be saying hello to the newest pickup: 

GURU RATINGS 

RATINGS BY SITE
247: 6'5/258	On3: 6'4/265	Rivals: 6'5/265	ESPN: 6'5/270
3*, 89, NR Ovr #23 DL, #10 OH	3*, 89, NR Ovr #32 DL, #16 OH	4*, 5.8, NR Ovr #NR SDE, #NR OH	3*, NR
COMPOSITE RANKINGS
247 Composite	On3 Consensus	MGoBlog
3*, 0.89, #357 Ovr #31 DL, #13 OH	3*, 89, #365 Ovr #31 DL, #14 OH	4*, #361/774 Ovr #30/65 DTs since 1990
3.90	3.90	4.02

Hammond checks in in the "somewhere between 3.5* and true 4*" territory, inside the top 400 but not yet cracking the top 300, where you'd be an accepted 4*. Among all DTs that we have in our database back to 1990, Hammond sits pretty much smack dab in the middle in terms of rating, not a blue chipper but not a stab in the dark. He measures in at an accepted 6'5" and somewhere in the 260 to 270 range in terms of weight, already a solid size for a junior.   

[AFTER THE JUMP: A solid prospect]

SCOUTING 

As a kid with a rather quiet recruitment that didn't involve many major schools until his commitment happened, scouting on Hammond right now is a bit sparse. Let's start with the role that Michigan seems to have set aside for Hammond. There seems to be a lot of clarity about where Mike Elston and Jim Harbaugh see him fitting in. 247's Brice Marich ($): 

I’m told he’s projected to be a defensive tackle in the defense and play the Kris Jenkins spot

The other recruiting beat writers reiterated this projection in their write-up of Hammond, so it seems pretty clear. On3's EJ Holland had a comp. between Hammond and another recent Michigan recruit ($): 

Hammond is basically in the same mold as Brooks Bahr. While he’s limited athletically, he’s a really solid player with upside. 

EJ doubles down on the Bahr comp. a few times and then goes on to give a little more information about Hammond: 

Yes, Hammond might seem a little bit like a ‘boring’ take, but Michigan fans will be glad he’s on the roster years from now ... It is going to take some time for Hammond to develop under both Elston and Herbert before he makes a meaningful impact. But I do think Hammond will provide depth and be a late career starter. Right now, I see him as more of a three-technique in Michigan’s defensive scheme. Like I said, he has the frame to add plenty of weight, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him get close to 300 pounds

Rivals' Seth Berry sheds some more light on Hammond ($): 

He has impressive size at 6-foot-5, 265 pounds and shows strong ability to get off his blocks at the point of attack and get to ball carriers in the backfield in the running game. 

Hammond also shows some potential at rushing from a stand up position and is relentless at pursuing the quarterback in the passing game, while putting an emphasis on finishing tackles with power.

247's Chris Singletary has a different comparison, a different Michigan player in fact: 

He looks like an odd front 3-4 end can play the six or the five tech. I think he can get to 280-290 pounds, solid athlete, he can get off the ball and there's still a lot of meat on the bone and it's encouraging that he's a four-sport guy. I could see him being like Mason Graham. You can tell he's fundamentally sound. 

The scouting is not deep, nor is it vivid right now, but everyone in the recruiting sphere who has taken the time to watch the Hammond highlight film seems to agree he's a solid prospect who's already at a decent weight, but will beef up even further when he gets to college. They seem to agree that he could play at different spots on the line and acknowledge that Michigan sees him in the Kris Jenkins spot, and that he fits the mold of what Mike Elston is looking for on the DL. Beyond that, it's pretty murky, but this is the sort of player where a lot more scouting will come out on him this summer and into his senior year, now that the likes of EJ Holland have a responsibility to watch him in-person since he has the block M next to his name. 

OFFERS

Hammond had plenty of offers, Oklahoma, Kansas, and WVU out of the Big XII, Kentucky, Vandy, and Mizzou out of the SEC, L'Ville, Pitt, BC, and Duke out of the ACC, Washington and Cal out west, Cincy in the Group of Five, and then a horde of B1G teams had offered. That includes Iowa, Purdue, Rutgers, Northwestern, Minnesota, and Michigan. Among the main contenders, Iowa and Cincinnati were likely the favorites before Michigan swooped in. 

HIGH SCHOOL 

Ted Hammond comes from Ohio HS football powerhouse St. Xavier High School, just outside Cincinnati. Though they just had a down year (finishing 5-7), they're only a couple years removed from a state championship (2020), having won another back in 2016. St. X was also crowned "national champions" of HS football by MaxPreps back in 2007, so by now you should get the gist. Among their more notable football alumni includes Sean Clifford and Luke Kuechly. One more interesting note: one of the two QBs to get playing time this year for St. X was Chase Herbstreit, son of Kirk Herbstreit.  

STATS

The St. Xavier stats page has Hammond down for 41 total tackles in ten games as a junior, 16 of the solo variety and 25 assisted. They also list Hammond as having seven made TFL and four sacks. 

FAKE 40 TIME 

His NCSA page lists a 40 time as 4.8, though the page appears to be from his sophomore season, so it may be a bit outdated. Given his current playing weight, 4.8 is not a laughably absurd time, but considering that this is a self-reported time with no verification at all, it is highly likely to be FAKE. His Hudl page has lots of measurables but no 40 time, with his shuttle listed at 4.35, vertical at 30, bench 320, squat 565, and deadlift 625. 

VIDEO 

Here is Hammond's junior year Hudl tape: 

ETC

3.81 GPA. Wants to be like Aidan Hutchinson. Has played baseball and basketball in the past as well, and also claims 13 summer club swimming records with the Cincinnati Marlins. Hopes to earn a pre-med degree. 

 

PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE

This is not a terribly easy section of the piece to write because of that dearth in scouting but given all that we know, brief scouting reports and recruiting rankings, it feels easy to project a median scenario here. Hammond is a solid prospect and there are reasons to believe he will blossom with Mike Elston and Ben Hebert as the ones overseeing the project. He's also not a blue chip and right now we don't know enough to project him as a mega-sleeper. Instead it feels most likely that Hammond will come to Michigan, redshirt, spend a year or two gaining muscle and learning a tough position like DT, and then in a few years you take him out of the oven and see what you have. Maybe it's a starter, maybe it's more a Donovan Jeter level player. If nothing else, he's a decent swing to take in the state of Ohio to continue building in-roads with higher ranked prospects on the board in the Buckeye State.  

UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS

Hammond is now the second DT prospect in the class, joining wildcard Manuel Beigel. Beigel has played both sides of the ball in HS, but it appears Michigan intends to keep him on defense. The Wolverines continue to recruit the defensive line aggressively for the 2024 class, with several EDGE prospects on the board (closest of which appears to be fellow Ohioan Brian Robinson) and it doesn't appear that Michigan is done at DT either. They are still involved in the pursuit of 5* Justin Scott, as well as 3.5* Eddie Tuerk from the Chicago area. Hammond is a nice piece to add to the class, but there is a lot of work still to go.