Wolverine TV: Michigan DL commit Ted Hammond talks decision, Mike Elston, recruiting Ohio prospects

The Wolverine travled down to Cincinnati, Ohio, on Wednesday to meet with 2024 St. Xavier High defensive lineman and Michigan commit Ted Hammond, who’s training with local position instructor Nick Staderman this offseason. Hammond, a little more than a month off his verbal pledge to the Wolverines, is one-of-two Ohio natives to make up Michigan’s 2024 recruiting class.

“It’s great because it’s given me the ability to connect more with my teammates in high school and enjoy that experience while not worrying about finding a college,” Hammond told The Wolverine. “Building the connections with the Michigan coaches and having them talk to my family has also been a really great experience.”

Michigan defensive line coach Mike Elston issued a formal offer to Hammond during the January contact period, which was the same month that the latter returned to Ann Arbor for an unofficial visit on the team’s Junior Day event. Hammond was joined by multiple Ohio targets on campus and would announce a commitment less than a week later.

“It’s a great location, about three-and-a-half hours away, so my family is able to come up to every home game,” Hammond said. “The academics are also amazing. I saw that it’s a top-five public school in the country. That was a big factor. As well as the connections that I’ll be able to make.”

Watch the full Q&A with Hamilton following his individual workout at Black Sheep Performance.

At 6-4, 275 pounds, Hammond is ranked as the No. 490 overall recruit in the country, No. 43 defensive lineman nationally, and No. 15 rising junior in the state of Ohio, according to the On3 Consensus. 

Hammond has an On3 NIL Valuation of $37K with 4.0K followers across Twitter and Instagram. The On3 NIL Valuation is an index that looks to set the standard market value for both high school and college-level athletes. The NIL valuation does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals an athlete has completed to date. It rather signifies an athlete’s value at a certain moment in time.

Rounding out the seven commits in Michigan’s 2024 recruiting class are On300 Harper Woods (Mich.) High defensive back Jacob Oden, On300 Nashville (Tenn.) Ensworth linebacker Mason Curtis, On300 Bellevue (Wash.) High tight end Hogan Hansen, consensus four-star Avon (Ohio) High interior offensive lineman Luke Hamilton, three-star Wallingford (Conn.) Choate Rosemary Hall defensive lineman Manuel Beigel and three-star South Park (Pa.) High linebacker Zach Ludwig.

The class is currently ranked No. 11 nationally in the On3 Consensus Rankings and No. 2 in the Big Ten behind Ohio State.