RED SPRINGS — After Purnell Swett’s Jodi Freeman signed to North Carolina A&T in last month, he’ll have some local company on team — someone who even plays the same position.
Red Springs offensive lineman Tim Hammonds signed Wednesday to play for the Aggies, joining Freeman in the Division-I Football Championship Subdivision program.
“It just felt like home,” Hammonds said. “It was a family thing, they made me feel welcome. I just got along really well with the guys, coaches, talking it up, really good guys. I believe in all of them and we can make a run for a championship.”
Hammonds becomes the first Red Springs football player to sign with a Division-I program since Markeiss Blue in 2014, who also went to North Carolina A&T.
“Timothy brings a physicality to the offensive line room with a combination of speed and power,” North Carolina A&T coach Vincent Brown said in a press release announcing the program’s 22-player signing class.
For Hammonds, joining Freeman in Greensboro was a big plus to his decision.
“I was talking to a lot of people and they were saying you having somebody there that you know to go to college with that’s doing the same thing you’re doing every day, that’s really a blessing … in itself,” Hammonds said. “Having somebody that can lead with you and go there with you, that means a lot. I feel like me and him can go together and grow together, and make a championship run and then go to the next level together one day too. It’s wherever God wants to take us and how much work we put in.”
The 6-foot-5, 290-pound offensive lineman had 28 pancakes and no sacks allowed in his senior season, earning honorable-mention All-State honors from HighSchoolOT in addition to All-County and All-Conference selections. He was also selected for the East-West All-Star Game. In addition to football, Hammonds plays basketball and baseball for the Red Devils, and is a 2022 All-County baseball selection.
“They’re going to get a passionate player, a lot of energy, he’s an energy guy,” Red Springs coach Tim Ray said. “The biggest thing is I think Tim’s just going to go there and really compete, and he enjoys the coaching staff, the O-line coach, the head coach. They all have really impressed Tim and Tim impressed them, so I think they’re going to be a good fit for each other.”
Hammonds had other Division-I offers from Campbell, Gardner-Webb and Long Island and additional offers from UNC Pembroke, Fayetteville State, Wingate, Bluefield, Charleston, Elizabeth City State and Barton. But he felt all along that the North Carolina A&T program was the best fit.
“It was A&T from the get go,” Hammonds said. “As soon as they offered, and as soon as the second day on the visit, how I felt and how everything was going, it was A&T from there.”
Having a Division-I signee for the first time in 10 years is a major milestone for the Red Devils’ program as it looks to continue growing entering Ray’s third season at the helm.
“The biggest thing we want to do is just build on that … and that’s something that (Hammonds) expressed to me when I first got here that he wanted to do, was play college football,” Ray said. “He made a road map to it, and stuck to it, and now seeing it all come to fruition is big. That’s the biggest thing is setting the plan and sticking to it. A few more guys in the future also have those plans, so get ready to see them do the same thing.”
Hammonds hopes that in finding a Division-I opportunity out of Red Springs he can provide an example for other young athletes in the community looking to do the same.
“A lot of kids grow up and don’t get to play football in general, and the fact that I get to come take it another level, that means a lot, especially when there’s not a lot of kids that think they can make something out of Red Springs,” Hammonds said. “I want to be somebody that kids look up to and say ‘hey, he did it, he got out of Red Springs, let me follow his footsteps.’”