D-Line Senior Hamilton Sees Growth in the Wave and Himself
In this story:
Growing Together Right at the Right Time
The Tulane defense seems to be coming together at the right time. Shutting down East Carolina in three of four quarters last week was just what the doctor ordered. It is part of what Green Wave coaches have been preaching all season.
When asked if the defense is starting to come together at midseason, run game coordinator and linebacker coach Bam Hardmon agreed, pointing to how long it can take nowadays with movement of players from school to school.
"With football teams these days, you get a lot of portal transfers, different pieces that come into play," coach Hardmon said. "So, now you have 50% new, if not more. With anything you do, growth comes with struggle, and we had our struggles (early on), but everybody just coming together and playing together, and that can give us hope."
Against East Carolina, the Tulane defense held ECU scoreless in the first half. The Pirates scored on every possession in the 3rd quarter, but only gave up a field goal in the three possessions ECU had in the 4th period.
Senior defensive lineman Kameron Hamilton referred to that growth on the defensive side..
"We came out too comfortable (after halftime)," said Hamilton. "Our coaches talked to us (between the 3rd and 4th quarter) and told us to wake up. They said some powerful words to us that helped us to come back and fight in the 4th."
And about This Upcoming Army Game...
As for this weekend's game against Army, this is not just another game for Hamilton.
"I told my family, this is a revenge tour," Hamilton said when referring to last year's American Conference Championship game loss to Army. "It was of the worst I've felt after a loss. Coach made a lot changes (from how Tulane played Army last year) physically, so I think it will help out."
Growing as a Team, but also Growing as a Person
Growth is not something new to Hamilton. The senior from Zachary, Louisiana, has seen his own personal growth since he was a baby.
"When I was born, I was premature," Kam told Tulane Athletics in his first big interview two years ago. "I had pneumonia when I was baby. (Doctors said) it affected my hearing. I'm 50% deaf in my right ear, 40% deaf in my left."
That makes him legally deaf, shortly after he was born. Hamilton wears hearing aids in his day-to-day activities, but during a football game, he is forced to go without. Coming to Tulane as a freshman in 2022, Kam felt alone.
"I was afraid to talk to people," Hamilton said. "I was afraid they wouldn't talk to me, because I couldn't talk right." Kam speaks through his nose, a technique that helps him hear himself speak better. "My first semester, I didn't talk to anyone. because I was nervous. That was the biggest lesson I learned: people are going to treat me the same (as anyone else), not different."
Two years ago, Tulane Athletics did a feature interview with Hamilton and made it part of a special YouTube series. You can see Kam's portion here until the 10:45 mark. In addition, Tulane beat reporter for NOLA.com, Guerry Smith did a feature piece on Kam.
Sitting next to me during our interview with Kam Hamilton Wednesday was Smith. When I asked Kam how things had progressed for him in those two years, he pointed at NOLA.com's beat reporter, thanking him for that first opportunity as a still-shy sophomore.
"I used to have a lot of anxiety talking to people," Hamilton told us. "But when (Guerry Smith) talked to me in the locker room, that gave me a lot more confidence going forward, and I thank you for that," he said, pointing to Smith."
Now, he sees himself as an example, someone who can help others.
"After last year, my mom told me, 'You need to help people out, people back home,'" Hamilton said. "Not just the deaf community, but my neighborhood. That's what I needed to hear, and I feel more motivated (to help others). Whatever you think is holding you back from doing what you want to do, don't let it. Think differently."
From a shy freshman who was afraid to speak to anyone, to a senior who has scouts coming to the Tulane facilities. Some are saying he could go in the late rounds of next year's NFL draft.
Kam Hamilton has truly grown over the years, coming full circle.
Tulane plays Army Saturday morning at 11:00 in Yulman Stadium.
Thanks to Tulane Athletics and NOLA.com's Guerry Smith
Doug has covered a gamut of sporting events in his fifty-plus years in the field. He started doing sideline reporting for Louisiana Tech football games for the student radio station. Doug was Sports Director for KNOE-AM/FM in Monroe in the mid-80s, winning numerous awards from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association for Best Sportscast and Best Play-by-Play. High school play-by-play for teams in Monroe, Natchitoches, New Orleans, and Thibodaux, LA dot his resume. He did college play-by-play for Northwestern State University in Natchitoches for nine years. Then, moving to the Crescent City, Doug did television PBP of Tulane games and even filled in for legendary Tulane broadcaster, Ken Berthelot in the only game Kenny ever missed while doing the Green Wave games. His father was an alumnus of Tulane in the 1940s, so Doug has attended Tulane football games in old Tulane Stadium, the Superdome, and Yulman. He was one of the 86,000 plus on December 1, 1973, sitting in the North End Zone to seeTulane shutout the LSU Tigers, 14-0. He was there when the Posse ruled Fogelman and in Turchin when the Wave made it to the World Series. He currently is the public address voice of the Tulane baseball team.