SAN ANTONIO -- Alabama golden boy, Shaun Hamilton, will join the ranks of great All-American linebackers tomorrow, at the 14th annual U.S. Army All-American Bowl.
Hamilton, a linebacker at Carver High School in Montgomery, Ala., recently committed to the University of Alabama. He is ranked the number six linebacker in the ESPN300, 56th in the region and seventh in the state. Not only is he a top-ranking athlete, but is also carrying a 4.0 grade point average.
For more than a decade, the colors of the U.S. Army have heralded the premier high school football game in the nation; showcasing athletes like Hamilton, who represent the Army values not just on the field, but in all aspects of life.
"I remember back in the ninth grade, me and my brother were working out and watching the Army All-American game and he said that if I worked hard and stayed 'prayed up,' it would be me playing in that game one day," Hamilton said. "Now, I am here and a lot of hard work has gone into this."
Hamilton has an even closer connection to the Army. His father Lt. Col. Shelton D. Hamilton has served more than 20 years in the Army Reserve, with two tours in Afghanistan.
"It is an awesome honor, with me being in the Army," said Shelton Hamilton. "Shaun has a work habit that makes him special. When he first started working toward this goal, he would get up at five o'clock in the morning and go work out in the park four days a week from the end of football season until February.That is just the kind of kid that he is."
By recruiting the nation's best qualified men and women, the Army is committed to selecting and developing youth who will become Army Strong, exhibit Army Strong values and will remain Army Strong members of their communities. Hamilton and the more than 200 players represent that strength matching the All-American Bowl messaging campaign, "Only the strongest wear our colors."
"I am going to play extra hard and with a chip on my shoulders knowing that he (Shaun's dad) is a lieutenant colonel in the Army and he is serving our country," said Shaun Hamilton.
