Let's Get to Know: Jakar Hamilton

With the start of spring classes in Athens, Georgia officially welcomed two new members of the Bulldog nation. Offensive lineman Kolton Houston and junior college safety Jakar Hamilton enrolled early and will be with the Dawgs when they begin spring practice in March. Houston will be a true freshman and with a veteran line returning in '10, is most likely headed for a redshirt season. Hamilton on the other hand is expected to compete for one of the open safety positions left by the graduation of Bryan Evans and the decision by Reshad Jones to leave early for the NFL.

Hamilton will be starting his SEC career two years later than oiginally planned. Hamilton originally committed to the University of South Carolina as part of the class of 2007 following a stellar career at Strom Thurmond High School (Johnston, SC). During high school, Hamilton played defense and offense, where he was a scoring machine during his junior season in 2005 scoring 20 touchdowns. He led his team to the state championship that year, but missed most of his senior year to injury. Academic issues ultimately led Hamilton away from South Carolina. He spent the following two seasons at Georgia Military College, where he quickly became a Junior College All-American. During his two seasons at GMC, Hamilton totaled 88 tackles and 6 interceptions playing primarily safety.

Jakar comes to Athens after choosing Georgia over Alabama, making his announcement at the Wild Wing Cafe in Augusta. (You can watch the video here.) Hamilton will have two years of eligibility left to display his talents. He is described as a physical safety who excels in run support and is known for making big tackles. The only knock on Hamilton appears to be his coverage skills, so hopefully new DB coach Scott Lakatos can help him improve in that area.

Hamilton wore #10 during his playing days at GMC. Hopefully he can live up to the last Dawg that wore #10 at safety, Thomas Davis.

Go Dawgs!!!