Benjamin Thomas Hamilton (born August 18, 1977) is a former American college and professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who was a

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

and

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) for ten seasons. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

, and was a two-time consensus All-American. The

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

picked him in the fourth round of the

2001 NFL Draft The 2001 NFL Draft was the 66th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible professional football players. The draft, which is officially referred to as the "NFL Player Selection Meeting," was held at the ...

, and he played professionally for the Broncos and

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

of the NFL.

Early years

Hamilton was born in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

, the son of former

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

offensive lineman

Wes Hamilton Wes Hamilton (born April 24, 1953 in Texas City, Texas) is a former American football offensive lineman who was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the 3rd round in the 1976 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Tulsa. On ...

. He attended

Wayzata High School Wayzata High School is a comprehensive public high school in Plymouth, Minnesota, United States, a suburb of Minneapolis. The high school, operated by Wayzata Public Schools, had about 3669 students in grades 9 to 12 as of 2021-22, making it Min ...

Plymouth, Minnesota Plymouth is a city in Hennepin County in the U.S. state of Minnesota. A suburb in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, the city is about west of downtown Minneapolis.The population was 81,026 at the 2020 census, making it Minnesota's ...

, and was all-state selection in football. He graduated in 1996.

College career

He attended the University of Minnesota, where he played for the

Minnesota Golden Gophers football The Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represents the University of Minnesota in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Founded in 1882, Minnesota has been a member of the Big Ten Conference since its ince ...

team from 1996 to 2000. He was a two-time first-team All-

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

selection, and was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American in 1999 and 2000.

Professional career

He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the fourth round of the

. After playing his entire career with the Broncos, Hamilton signed with the

on April 20, 2010. On November 2, 2010, Hamilton was placed on injured reserve. On December 22, Hamilton was waived from the injury list.

Post NFL career

Hamilton is currently a full-time mathematics teacher at

Valor Christian High School Valor Christian High School is a private, Christian high school in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, United States. The school colors are Navy blue, Columbia blue, and white, and the school nickname is ''The Eagles''. Valor has four major focuses: Academi ...

Highlands Ranch, CO Highlands Ranch is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place (CDP) located in and governed by Douglas County, Colorado, United States. The CDP is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. The po ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Ben 1977 births Living people All-American college football players American football centers American football offensive guards Berlin Thunder players Denver Broncos players Minnesota Golden Gophers football players Players of American football from Minneapolis Seattle Seahawks players