Hamilton switches to Stanford

One of the nation's top offensive tackles will continue his football and academic career at Stanford.

Four-star Gilman High School (Baltimore) standout Devery Hamilton announced Saturday that he had switched his verbal commitment from Michigan to the Cardinal.

Hamilton made his choice after taking official visits to Ann Arbor and Palo Alto earlier this month.

"I sat down with my parents after we came back from Stanford this past weekend," Hamilton said. "We sat down and we just decided that this would be the best decision moving forward for me. In terms of the academics, things like that, you can't beat Stanford. We just decided it would be the best decision for me moving forward."

Hamilton took his official visit to Stanford - his second trip to The Farm - from Jan. 22 - Jan. 24. He was accompanied by his parents on the visit.

"It was great," Hamilton said. "I really enjoyed my time. The really important thing for me was getting to hang out with some of the the recruits and then some of the players that are already there. I really enjoyed my time there and the people there. So it was important for me to see that and feel that."

Stanford inside linebackers coach Peter Hansen was the area recruiter on Hansen. Cardinal offensive coordinator Mike Bloomgren was also extremely involved in Hamilton's recruitment; he will of course also be Hamilton's position coach when the Baltimore native arrives on campus this summer. Bloomgren and Cardinal head coach David Shaw made an in-home visit with Hamilton yesterday.

Hamilton came to a decision earlier this week.

"My parents came back from California on Tuesday," Hamilton said. "They got stuck because of the snow. So I think it was Tuesday night when we sat down and talked about this."

Hamilton has not discussed the specifics of Stanford's plan for his first year on campus yet, but he anticipates competing for playing time alongside the Cardinal's other incoming freshmen.

"When I get there in the summer I'll work just like everybody else," Hamilton said. "And then getting into fall camp, we'll see how it shakes out. I'll go in with the mindset that I'll compete for a spot just like everybody else. And if I do get a spot, that's great. If I don't get a spot and get redshirted, that's great too. That would just give me more time to get stronger, learn the offense, get acclimated to school, things like that. But I'm not going in with the mentality of, 'I'm redshirting.' I know I'm going to have the mentality to compete."

And while he will be continuing his career in the Pac-12 rather than the Big 10, Hamilton emphasized that his choice was in no way an indictment of Michigan. He kept Michigan apprised of developments in his recruitment with Stanford throughout the process, and he continues to view the Wolverine program and the people that comprise it in a positive light.

"There's no negativity or disrespect toward anybody at Michigan," Hamilton said. "Nobody on the coaching staff, nobody at the university. They're all great people. I enjoyed my time there tremendously. There's no disrespect to them. It's just that I feel, and me and my family feel, that this is the best decision for me to go to Stanford."

Hamilton has been admitted into Stanford University. He's considering a variety of college major paths, including business, pre-med and political science.