Receiver Josh Hammond finished his college career in Florida's victory over Virginia in the Capital One Orange Bowl. (Photo: Kelly Chase/UAA Communications)
Hammond Trains for NFL Shot Far From Combine's Spotlight
Wednesday, February 26, 2020 | Football, Scott Carter
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By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The usual foursome is missing a player.
Gators receivers Van Jefferson, Freddie Swain and Tyrie Cleveland are among the 55 wideouts scheduled to participate Thursday in on-field workouts at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis. The festivities will be broadcast live on the NFL Network.
Josh Hammond, their former teammate, will be about 1,200 miles away in Davie, Fla. When the 337-player list of invitees to the combine was released earlier this month, Hammond's absence might not have caused a stir outside the Sunshine State, but among fans and media familiar with Florida's senior class of receivers, it certainly raised an eyebrow.
Many took to social media to voice their surprise.
A four-year letterwinner and consistent contributor to Florida's resurgence under head coach Dan Mullen, Hammond took the snub in stride. Of course, did anyone expect otherwise from the cordial and laid-back Hammond?
"I don't let things like that bother me for the most part,'' Hammond said this week. "I can't control that."
Instead, Hammond immediately turned his focus toward what he could do to prepare for UF Pro Day next month. That includes regular visits to Per4orm, a training center in Davie that is a popular destination for NFL hopefuls as they prepare for the combine and their pro days. Hammond's older brother, ex-Gators receiver Frankie Hammond Jr., worked out at the gym as he trained for a shot in the NFL, and former Gators running back Jordan Scarlett spent time there a year ago before being drafted by the Carolina Panthers.
As Hammond aims toward a shot to impress NFL scouts in a few weeks, he has a familiar face throwing him passes: Utah quarterback Tyler Huntley, another player many expected to be invited to the combine. Huntley was Hammond's quarterback when they played together at Hallandale High prior to going their separate ways for college.
Hammond said he knew several days prior to the list being made public that he would not be in Indianapolis. He read the signs. Jefferson and Swain received email invitations not long after Florida's season ended with an Orange Bowl victory over Virginia. Cleveland's came later, as did former Florida State defensive back Stanford Samuels, who has been working out at Per4orm in a group with Hammond. In talking to other players and getting a better grasp of the process, Hammond and his trainers devised a plan.
"It is extra motivation. Any time you get overlooked in a setting where they invite the top athletes per se in the country, and you're not one of those guys, as a competitor, you want to be one of those guys that's in that spotlight to showcase what you can do,'' he said. "It does put a little chip on your shoulder, but it also gives me a lot of extra time to sit back and really focus on the details of the things I need to work on to get better so I can be really successful when my time does come."
Gators receiver Josh Hammond works out on a track in South Florida as part of his training regiment at Per4orm. (Photo courtesy of the Per4orm Facebook page).
Hammond capped his Gators career with a solid senior season, catching 27 passes for 346 yards and two touchdowns. He added 101 yards rushing, good enough for fourth on the team. He made several key plays, most notably a 65-yard reception on the go-ahead drive in the season-opening victory over Miami, and a 76-yard touchdown run to ice the Gators' comeback win at Kentucky in the game that starting quarterback Feleipe Franks suffered a season-ending ankle injury.
While Jefferson and Cleveland played in the Senior Bowl to showcase their skills in front of NFL personnel, Hammond joined Swain at the East-West Shrine Bowl in St. Petersburg. He left confident that he had made a good impression that can help him earn a spot in an NFL camp this summer.
"I talked to a lot of coaches throughout the week,'' he said. "I got a lot of positive feedback from it. I think the biggest thing for me is probably just going to be running fast at Pro Day. When I talk to a lot of coaches, the biggest thing that most people ask me about is what I think I can run in the 40. I've been training hard. I think I'm going to run really fast. I'm excited for the opportunity and the chance to finally reach the dream I've been chasing since I was a little kid."
Whatever Hammond lacks in straight-line speed, he proved more than capable as a dependable pass catcher and route runner for the Gators. He also served as a team representative in front of the media week in and week out.
Hammond's intangibles are not a concern.
"Josh Hammond is a kid that can really get after it,'' former NFL receiver Antwaan Randle El, an assistant at the East-West Shrine Bowl, told reporters last month. "More of an inside guy."
And if Hammond needs any inspiration, he can look to his brother's path to the NFL. Frankie Hammond went undrafted in 2013 but signed with Kansas City, where he spent parts of four seasons, two as the team's primary punt returner. In 40 games at Florida, Josh caught 87 passes for 1,138 yards and six touchdowns, bettering Frankie's numbers in 48 games (63 catches, 812 yards, six touchdowns).
As the combine generates countless debates and internet headlines the next few days in Indy, Hammond plans to work up a South Florida sweat under the watchful eye of his trainers. Speed drills are at the forefront.
The rest of his game is in good hands.
"My trainers are putting together a very unique straining plan for me with the schedule I have being that I didn't get the invite,'' he said. "I'm just continuing to train and grind it out and put on a show at Pro Day. I think the biggest thing I do is catch the football and get open. I can play any different spot on the field and do whatever I need to do. My versatility and my will to try to help the team with whatever I need to do, I think those are my two biggest strengths."
Traits that might not earn an invitation to the combine but have served Hammond well.
