It’s been a whirlwind stretch of days for Hamilton Southeastern High School senior Donovan Hamilton.
First, Hamilton was named Dec. 4 as the Indiana Mr. Football position winner for wide receiver.
Then, Hamilton committed to Purdue University Dec. 10 immediately after taking an official visit.
“It’s a great fit for me, so I knew it was home right away,” Hamilton said.
The 6-foot-4 Hamilton caught 47 passes for 934 yards and 11 touchdowns for the Royals this season. He finished with 102 career catches for 1,841 yards and 21 TDs.
“Going into the season, I wasn’t thinking about any awards other than a state championship,” Hamilton said. “But after the season was over, I realized I had some pretty good stats and could win some awards, but never thought about (the position Mr. Football award).”
It took him a little bit by surprise.
“I woke up with my phone having a bunch of Twitter (now X) notifications,” he said. “I had no clue the awards were coming out that day.”
Hamilton said his route running and run-after-catch ability were his biggest areas of improvement.
“My training in the summer and all offseason helped a lot with that,” he said. “I feel like I made the most out of every catch I had trying to fight for extra yards.”
Also a varsity boys basketball player, Hamilton averaged 10.8 points and 7.8 rebounds in the first four games this season for the Royals. He averaged 10.7 ppg last season.
It is important to Hamilton to play this season because he said basketball was his first love.
“So, I needed to finish out high school knowing this is my last season of it,” he said.
Hamilton’s older sister, Amaya, was a 2019 Indiana Girls Basketball All-Star and is a senior at Duquesne University.
Hamilton’s father, Brian Hamilton, was a defensive tackle at the University of Notre Dame.
