Editor’s Note: We originally ran this article in February after Justin Hamilton was hired as Virginia Tech’s safeties coach.  We thought it would be appropriate to run it again to remind everyone of Hamilton’s background in coaching, and his experience in various schemes.  The article has not been updated.  We are running it in its original form.  Brandon Patterson will return later this week with an updated article on Hamilton’s Xs and Os.

With Justin Hamilton’s promotion to safeties coach now official, let’s look at his formative experiences since his playing days in Lane Stadium ended. Maybe I should say “finally official,” since the rumors have been going ‘round, and he’s been going ‘round, too, doing fan events and speaking at clinics about defensive coverages. By all accounts, he checks many of the same boxes as Jafar Williams: he’s got a balance of youth and experience, he’s got some NFL reps, he’s worked his way through the coaching ranks, and he seems to have the personality and drive needed to be a good coach. As a bonus, he’s an insider to the Hokies’ system/scheme and a poster child for “This is Home.”

I think everyone’s familiar with Hamilton’s success story at Virginia Tech, so I won’t belabor that. Superficially, you could say his resume since then hasn’t been impressive: a year and a few months in the NFL (a good bit of that injured); a DC gig at a DII school in a steep decline; coaching linebackers and special teams at oft-overmatched VMI; and then a staff role at Tech. But a closer look reveals otherwise.

His NFL experience, while brief, exposed him to some great defensive concepts. First, his year at Cleveland exposed him to the Saban/Belichick defensive scheme, which is probably the best schematic tree in all of football. Head coach Romeo Crennel got the job off his work as Belichick’s defensive coordinator, while defensive coordinator Todd Grantham (Pulaski Co. native and former Hokie) got his exposure to the scheme from several years under Nick Saban at Michigan State.

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