Photo by: Mike Lawrence
Kyonte Hamilton: Wrestling & Football
Dec 25 | Football
PHOENIX – Rutgers DL Kyonte Hamilton is set to wrap up his collegiate career this week at the Rate Bowl. Heading into Thursday's matchup with Kansas State, Hamilton has played in 50 consecutive games across four seasons, earning a spot on the All-Big Ten team this fall.
As a high school junior at Georgetown Prep in Maryland, Hamilton was the top-ranked 220-pounder and one of the top pound-for-pound wrestlers in the nation. Hamilton was committed to the Scarlet Knights as a wrestler but had just started to come into his own on the gridiron.
While Hamilton had everything set up for a successful wrestling career "On the Banks," his love for football had him wanting more.
As the story goes, the wrestling staff reached out to head coach Greg Schiano and his staff shortly after Schiano returned to RU and the rest is history. Hamilton came out to compete at a junior day and performed well enough to earn an offer and was set for a two-sport career as a Scarlet Knight.
"Without wrestling, I probably wouldn't have gotten that offer," Hamilton said. "I was not really recruited for football – my school wasn't a huge football school. I was just blessed to have an opportunity to get that offer."
With Hamilton's senior season of high school canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he arrived on campus with limited experience on the football field. Initially a tight end, he soon shifted to the defensive line and would see action in all 13 games in his debut season.
Despite his lack of experience in the trenches, Hamilton credits his experience as a wrestler as a major reason he was able to see the field and have success so early in his career.
"It's a lot of hand fighting, a lot of leverage," Hamilton said. "I would say the main thing that helps is when you're pass rushing, it's all about beating the hands. As a wrestler, my entire life, it's all been about hand-fighting, being able to beat the hands and get to the legs. It definitely transfers really well and helps me in my pass rush where I actually use certain wrestling moves in my pass rush to be better."
After shifting his focus to football full-time after his freshman year, Hamilton earned a starting spot on the defensive line, starting all 12 games at both defensive tackle and defensive end in 2022.
While most players tend to stick to either the interior or exterior on the defensive line, playing multiple positions was no issue for someone who once competed in multiple sports at the Big Ten level.
"When they gave me the opportunity to play football, I was like 'trust me, I'm going to make the best of it wherever you put me.' I didn't really care whatever position I played," he said. "I came in as a tight end then got moved to nose tackle and it wasn't really a huge deal to me. Wherever you want me to play, wherever I have the best chance to play – I'll play."
In college wrestling, the maximum weight to compete is 285 pounds. As a nose tackle in the Big Ten, Hamilton was regularly lined up against offensive linemen that easily exceed 300 pounds.
With Hamilton weighing around 270 pounds as a freshman, the move to football allowed him to put on over 35 pounds while keeping many of the hand-fighting and leverage skills that made him so difficult to block.
"Being able to go through the offseason and be able to lift and fully focus on football allowed me to build the muscle and gain the weight that I needed to play better," he said. "I already had the leverage, I had the hips, but I really needed the size. Once I got the size, it made everything way easier."
The last five years have seen Hamilton go from a blue-chip wrestling prospect with football as an afterthought into an All-Big Ten standout and future NFL lineman. His journey was atypical, but through his relentless pursuit of excellence, Kyonte Hamilton has carved out one of the more unique success stories out there.
"It's been a pretty surreal experience," Hamilton said. "It's definitely different from a lot of other people's stories, but I wouldn't want to have it any other way."
Follow Rutgers football on X (@RFootball & @RUboardwalk), Facebook (/RFootballShow) and Instagram (@rfootball & @ruboardwalk) for the latest news and updates. Also subscribe to the YouTube channel.
As a high school junior at Georgetown Prep in Maryland, Hamilton was the top-ranked 220-pounder and one of the top pound-for-pound wrestlers in the nation. Hamilton was committed to the Scarlet Knights as a wrestler but had just started to come into his own on the gridiron.
While Hamilton had everything set up for a successful wrestling career "On the Banks," his love for football had him wanting more.
As the story goes, the wrestling staff reached out to head coach Greg Schiano and his staff shortly after Schiano returned to RU and the rest is history. Hamilton came out to compete at a junior day and performed well enough to earn an offer and was set for a two-sport career as a Scarlet Knight.
"Without wrestling, I probably wouldn't have gotten that offer," Hamilton said. "I was not really recruited for football – my school wasn't a huge football school. I was just blessed to have an opportunity to get that offer."
With Hamilton's senior season of high school canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he arrived on campus with limited experience on the football field. Initially a tight end, he soon shifted to the defensive line and would see action in all 13 games in his debut season.
Despite his lack of experience in the trenches, Hamilton credits his experience as a wrestler as a major reason he was able to see the field and have success so early in his career.
"It's a lot of hand fighting, a lot of leverage," Hamilton said. "I would say the main thing that helps is when you're pass rushing, it's all about beating the hands. As a wrestler, my entire life, it's all been about hand-fighting, being able to beat the hands and get to the legs. It definitely transfers really well and helps me in my pass rush where I actually use certain wrestling moves in my pass rush to be better."
After shifting his focus to football full-time after his freshman year, Hamilton earned a starting spot on the defensive line, starting all 12 games at both defensive tackle and defensive end in 2022.
While most players tend to stick to either the interior or exterior on the defensive line, playing multiple positions was no issue for someone who once competed in multiple sports at the Big Ten level.
"When they gave me the opportunity to play football, I was like 'trust me, I'm going to make the best of it wherever you put me.' I didn't really care whatever position I played," he said. "I came in as a tight end then got moved to nose tackle and it wasn't really a huge deal to me. Wherever you want me to play, wherever I have the best chance to play – I'll play."
In college wrestling, the maximum weight to compete is 285 pounds. As a nose tackle in the Big Ten, Hamilton was regularly lined up against offensive linemen that easily exceed 300 pounds.
With Hamilton weighing around 270 pounds as a freshman, the move to football allowed him to put on over 35 pounds while keeping many of the hand-fighting and leverage skills that made him so difficult to block.
"Being able to go through the offseason and be able to lift and fully focus on football allowed me to build the muscle and gain the weight that I needed to play better," he said. "I already had the leverage, I had the hips, but I really needed the size. Once I got the size, it made everything way easier."
The last five years have seen Hamilton go from a blue-chip wrestling prospect with football as an afterthought into an All-Big Ten standout and future NFL lineman. His journey was atypical, but through his relentless pursuit of excellence, Kyonte Hamilton has carved out one of the more unique success stories out there.
"It's been a pretty surreal experience," Hamilton said. "It's definitely different from a lot of other people's stories, but I wouldn't want to have it any other way."
Follow Rutgers football on X (@RFootball & @RUboardwalk), Facebook (/RFootballShow) and Instagram (@rfootball & @ruboardwalk) for the latest news and updates. Also subscribe to the YouTube channel.
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