Adrian Charles Hamilton (born November 29, 1987) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

outside linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

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 ...

for the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

. He signed with the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2012. He also was a member of the

Portland Thunder The Portland Steel were a professional arena football team based in Portland, Oregon and members of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team started as the Portland Thunder, joining the AFL in 2014 as an expansion team along with the Los Ange ...

in the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

. 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 ...

Prairie View A&M University Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU or PV) is a public historically black land-grant university in Prairie View, Texas. Founded in 1876, it is one of Texas's two land-grant universities and the second oldest public institution of higher learnin ...

Early years

Hamilton attended David W. Carter High School, where he played both at

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

and

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

. In his last 2 years, he totaled 155 tackles, 12 sacks, 29 quarterback hurries, 9 forced fumbles and one fumble returned for a touchdown.

College career

Hamilton accepted a football scholarship from

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

in 2006. As a freshman, he was suspended after failing to meet the NCAA academic requirements. The school also asked him to pay for his own tuition and "greyshirt" while sitting out the first semester, which he couldn't do. In 2007, he walked on at

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

. As a sophomore, he played sparingly as a backup in 6 games, recording 4 tackles (one for loss). On November 17, in the season finale against No. 3 ranked

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

, he tallied 2 tackles as

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

won 34-27. In August 2008, he was dismissed from the team by head coach Mike Leach for a team rules violation. In 2008, he enrolled at Dallas County Community College to improve his academic grades, although he didn't play football. In 2010, he transferred to

Football Championship Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision. Sponsored by the National Collegiate Athleti ...

Prairie View A&M Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU or PV) is a public historically black land-grant university in Prairie View, Texas. Founded in 1876, it is one of Texas's two land-grant universities and the second oldest public institution of higher learning ...

. As a junior, he was a backup

behind

Quinton Spears Quinton Spears (born May 11, 1988) is a former American football linebacker of the National Football League (NFL). He was a 3-year-letter wide receiver at Montgomery High School in Montgomery, Texas, and received a scholarship to Prairie View A& ...

and Jarvis Wilson. He registered 27 tackles (8 for loss), 5½ sacks, eight tackles for loss and one blocked punt (returned for a touchdown). As a senior in 2011, he started 9 out of 11 games. Hamilton broke the FCS single season sack record held by former

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

Robert Mathis Robert Nathan Mathis (born February 26, 1981) is a former American football defensive end and outside linebacker who played his entire 14-year career with the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college footbal ...

with 22, while leading the team with 81 tackles, 26.5 tackles for loss, 5 quarterback hurries and 6 forced fumbles. On December 6, he was announced as the

Southwestern Athletic Conference The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) is a collegiate athletic conference headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, which is made up of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Southern United States. It participates in t ...

(SWAC) co-Defensive Player of the Year along with

Grambling State Grambling State University (GSU, Grambling, or Grambling State) is a public historically black university in Grambling, Louisiana. Grambling State is home of the Eddie G. Robinson Museum and is listed on the Louisiana African American Heritage ...

linebacker Cliff Exama. He also was named to the All-SWAC defensive first-team. The

also recognized Hamilton as Defensive Player of the Year in 2011.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Hamilton was signed as an

by the

after the

2012 NFL Draft The 2012 NFL draft was the 77th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players for their rosters. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held ...

on April 29. He was limited with knee and wrist injuries during training camp. On August 25, in a preseason game against the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994. The arri ...

, Hamilton had a sack on

Kellen Clemens Kellen Vincent Clemens (born June 7, 1983) is a former American football quarterback who spent eleven seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the New York Jets in the second round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He played colle ...

. On August 30, Hamilton was released.

Baltimore Ravens

On September 2, 2012, Hamilton signed with

to join the Practice squad. On December 22, 2012, Hamilton was promoted to the active roster after the team placed

Jameel McClain Jameel Lashawn McClain (born July 25, 1985) is a former American football linebacker who is currently the Director of Player Engagement for the Baltimore Ravens. After playing college football for Syracuse University, he was signed by the Ravens a ...

on Injured Reserve. Hamilton played in the final two regular season games of the Ravens'

Super Bowl XLVII Super Bowl XLVII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Baltimore Ravens and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...

championship season and made one tackle. He was declared inactive for the postseason. On August 25, 2013, he was placed on the

injured reserve list The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

. On June 17, 2014, he was waived.

San Diego Chargers

On July 22, 2014, Hamilton signed with

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

. The Chargers released Hamilton on August 25.

Calgary Stampeders (CFL)

On March 18, 2015, he was signed by the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-old ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

. He was released on June 14.

Portland Thunder (AFL)

On July 8, 2015, he signed with the

of the

. He appeared in the last 5 games, making 12 tackles (2 for loss), 3 pass break ups, and one sack. He was placed on the Other League Exemption list, to allow him to sign a contract with the

Ottawa RedBlacks The Ottawa Redblacks (officially stylized as REDBLACKS) ( French: Le Rouge et Noir d'Ottawa) are a professional Canadian football team based in Ottawa, Ontario. The team plays in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Startin ...

of the

Ottawa RedBlacks (CFL)

On September 8, 2015, he was signed to the practice roster of the

in the

. He was released on October 18.

Texas Revolution (CIF)

In 2017, he was signed by the Texas Revolution of the

Champions Indoor Football Champions Indoor Football (CIF) is a professional indoor American football minor league created in 2014 out of the merger between the Champions Professional Indoor Football League (CPIFL) and Lone Star Football League (LSFL), plus one team from ...

. He was released on May 31.

References

External links

Baltimore Ravens bio

Dallas Cowboys bio

Prairie View A&M Panthers bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Adrian 1987 births Living people American football outside linebackers Dallas Cowboys players Baltimore Ravens players Prairie View A&M Panthers football players Portland Thunder players Portland Steel players Texas Tech Red Raiders football players Texas Revolution players Players of American football from Dallas Players of Canadian football from Dallas African-American players of American football 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people