_2013.jpg) Hamilton in 2013 | |||||||||||||
| No. 14 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Quarterback | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born | (1977-03-13)March 13, 1977 (age 48) Alvin, South Carolina, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight | 190 lb (86 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school | Macedonia (SC) | ||||||||||||
| College | Georgia Tech | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 2000: 7th round, 234th overall pick | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||
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| Career Arena League statistics | |||||||||||||
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| Stats atPro Football Reference | |||||||||||||
Joseph Fitzgerald Hamilton (born March 13, 1977) is an American former professionalfootball player who was aquarterback in theNational Football League (NFL),NFL Europe andArena Football League (AFL). He playedcollege football for theGeorgia Tech Yellow Jackets, earning consensusAll-American honors and winning theDavey O'Brien Award in 1999. After his playing career ended, Hamilton became an administrator and coach. He has served as the running backs coach forGeorgia State University and currently works in the recruiting department for his alma mater, Georgia Tech.
Hamilton accepted anathletic scholarship to attend Georgia Tech, where he played for theGeorgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team from 1996 to 1999. He setAtlantic Coast Conference (ACC) career records for total offense (10,640 yards), touchdown passes (65) and total touchdowns (83). As a senior in 1999, he was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American, won theDavey O'Brien Award, and was a finalist for theHeisman Trophy, finishing as the runner-up in the Heisman voting behindWisconsinrunning backRon Dayne. In 2002, he was named as one of the fifty members of the ACC 50th Anniversary Football Team. Hamilton was elected to theCollege Football Hall of Fame in 2014.[1]
Due to his lack of prototypical height for anNFL quarterback (standing just 5'10"/1.78 m), he fell to the 7th round of the2000 NFL draft before being drafted by theTampa Bay Buccaneers.[2] In three years with the Buccaneers he only played four downs in a single regular-season game. In 2002, the Buccaneers allocated Hamilton toNFL Europe, where he led theFrankfurt Galaxy to 5–2 record in 2002 before suffering atorn ACL. He spent the entire2002 NFL season oninjured reserve and was released by the Buccaneers at the end of the season. He received aSuper Bowl ring following the Buccaneers' victory inSuper Bowl XXXVII.
He signed with the Arena Football League's Orlando Predators in 2004 and guided the team to a 9–5 record and the playoffs, despite suffering another knee injury and missing two and a half games.
He was then signed by theIndianapolis Colts in 2004, reuniting with former Buccaneers coachTony Dungy, but only saw limited action in one game before being released during the season.
He returned to theOrlando Predators where he was thestarting quarterback through the2006 season. He had a 32–15 record as the Predators' starter and led them toArenaBowl XX in 2006, losing 69–61 to theChicago Rush. With a win, Hamilton would have become the first player in history to own both a Super Bowl and ArenaBowl ring. In the 2006 off-season, he was released by the Orlando Predators.[3]
He returned to school, and received his degree in history, Technology, and Society in August 2007. "[4]
In 2008, following an arrest for a hit and run, DUI, open container and marijuana possession, Joe Hamilton resigned as a Georgia Tech assistant coach—less than two weeks after he was hired.[5]
In 2010, he resurrected his coaching career when he became a recruiting intern at Georgia State, which had launched itsGeorgia State Panthers football team that year. In June 2011, he joined the Panthers' full-time staff as running backs coach.[6] On May 7, 2013, exactly 5 years after submitting his resignation, Hamilton was re-hired by Georgia Tech to provide assistance with recruiting for the Yellow Jackets football team.[7]
Most recently, Hamilton was the co-host of The Locker Room, a morning sports radio program onWCNN in Atlanta, and he was the color analyst for Georgia Tech football radio broadcasts. Dickey Broadcasting president, David Dickey, announced on Monday, September 9, 2024, that Hamilton is no longer an employee of Dickey Broadcasting and will no longer be heard on 680 The Fan in any capacity.[8]
