SA athletes to continue careers at EMCC
From J.E. Logan Field in Starkville to Sullivan-Windham Field in Scooba, Torin Hamilton is getting a chance to live out his dream on the gridiron.
Scooba and East Mississippi are next on the docket for the talented defensive end who signed his papers on Thursday morning to continue his career.
The Starkville Academy pass rusher couldn’t be more pumped for a chance to play for one of the best junior college programs in the country.
“I’m very excited and very blessed,” Hamilton said. “God gave me this situation and put me in it. (EMCC) is the best team I fit with and I’m really excited to go be a Lion now. It’s very exciting. They’ve won a lot of national championships and have been in some big ball games so it’s going to be exciting to play at the next level.”
Hamilton was the heart and soul of the Volunteer defense over the last couple of seasons and put together a monster senior year
at SA to help lead them into the playoffs once again. He finished out his last year on campus with 124 tackles, 46 solo, 14 tackles for loss, seven sacks and a forced fumble.
Vols’ coach Chase Nicholson saw a hard worker who was never satisfied and always came to work for his team. He was thrilled for yet another player getting a chance to continue his career on the next level.
“We’re just excited about his opportunity,” Nicholson said. “He was a good player
for us for three years and was a huge part of the defense. He’s worked hard and is a big kid who deserves an opportunity. It’s great for the school, great for him and is a great opportunity.”
The long, athletic pass rusher picked up heavy interest from East Central Community College and Itawamba Community College, but Scooba was where he wanted to be. The coaches at EMCC want to continue to see him make his money getting after the quarterback, but the Lions want him to do so with another 30-40 pounds on him.
“They see me playing at defensive end,” Hamilton said. “They want me to put a little more weight on me and be a pass rusher and feel like it’ll be a good fit.”
Now that a decision has been made and graduation is just several days away, Hamilton can’t help but reflect on his time in Starkville. Many games were won and championship trophies put in the hallway that Hamilton contributed and will not forget.
The relentless defender said that the coaches at SA made his time there special. He learned life lessons and in football that will be with him
for life.
Even when he becomes a Lion, Hamilton will still be leaning on those coaches with the Vols to help him through the next two years playing some of the toughest football in the country in Mississippi junior college.
“We had a good coach Jeff Terrill here that taught me a lot,” Hamilton said. “With coach (Nicholson) moved up and became the head coach, we didn’t lose anything. Coach Bubba Davis has also taught me about everything I know and he’ll be over at Scooba a lot so that was a big deal to me as well.”