Isaac Hamm gearing up for highly-anticipated junior season at Sun Prairie

A lot has changed from Isaac Hamm's sophomore to junior football season, which is set to begin on March 26 against Madison La Follette.

Close to 90 pounds and nine scholarship offers, to be exact.

"The biggest thing last year was that I was playing on the defensive line at like 6-foot-5 and 190 pounds. This year, I’m sitting at 6-foot-6 and 275 (pounds), so I’d definitely say that I got a lot bigger and a lot stronger - a lot faster and more explosive," Hamm said recently said on the BadgerBlitz.com Podcast. "I’m going to be a lot more of a presence stopping the run and I’ll be a lot more aggressive in the pass rush, too. Everything just kind of upgraded with the time I had to work on my mechanics and everything this offseason.

"Last year was the first year I ever played on the defensive line. I was always a linebacker and I had a lot of time at running back, actually. I also played some wide receiver and some quarterback - they put me everywhere. It kind of got to the point where I was way too tall to play running back and be on that side of the football, and I wasn’t nearly filled out in my frame enough to be playing on the offensive line, either. So my coaches just kind of looked at me and said if he can’t play offensive line, we’re going to stick him on defense and see what happens. Ever since I’ve just been playing defense line."

Not only did COVID-19 push Sun Prairie's season from the fall to the spring, it also impacted Hamm's ability to see some of the programs that started offering scholarships roughly one year ago.

"It was one year ago, yesterday, when I got my first offer," Hamm said. "That’s when I took my first visit as well. That was when Iowa came into my high school and they said, 'hey, if you can take this junior day down here, we have some good news for you.' So a year ago, we went down to Iowa City and that’s when they threw that first offer and that’s when things started rolling.

"When you look at it from a recruiting standpoint and some of those kids who are getting highly recruited, it was kind of tough that we couldn’t take any of our visits and we couldn’t reach out to more schools that we wanted to with the dead period extended and all that. It was definitely tough from a recruiting standpoint because I couldn’t really experience that to its fullest. But as far as just playing football, I think if you look at the athletes in the state, we all just looked at it as more time to improve until we play our next football season. That’s just kind of how I took it - I can’t do much about the situation to change it, so I might as well get to work. Once my junior season comes around, I’m going to be ready for battle."

The Hawkeyes and Badgers offered within hours of each other in late January of 2020. Since then, Hamm, who had 37 tackles - 14 for loss - four sacks and one interception as a sophomore, picked up scholarships from Notre Dame, Penn State, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Purdue and Illinois. This winter, Hamm has also been in contact with new UW defensive line coach Ross Kolodziej, who replaced Inoke Breckterfield on Paul Chryst's staff.

"You’ll never forget your first offer and the people who took a chance on you before anyone else did," Hamm said. "But there’s definitely something special to be said about getting that in-state offer. They came to Sun Prairie after school and I was getting a workout in with my head coach. I saw dudes standing with a bunch of Badger gear in front of me out of nowhere when I was benching. There was definitely something special about them coming and reaching out in person and getting that one.

"We’ve talked several times since he (Kolodziej) took the job. Because strength and conditioning is really his biggest thing and that’s what he knows a lot about - and I’m definitely into lifting right now in the offseason - we’ve centered a lot of our topics around training and how I can best prepare myself for my next season and further moving to playing on Saturdays in the future. We really talk about strength and conditioning a lot and we’re also talking about how we can incorporate him learning how I best play and my style on the football field."

In November, Hamm released a top four that included Wisconsin, Penn State, Notre Dame and Ohio State. From that quartet, the Buckeyes have yet to offer.

"I would say that I still definitely feel great about that list and those are still definitely the top four schools on my list," Hamm said. "But there are some potential options that could lead to me opening my recruiting back up. I would say I want to wait until they offer before I share those, though.

"I definitely think that with what I’m doing in the offseason right now and what I’m doing in the classroom - and depending how I do my junior season - I think that’s (Ohio State) going to be one of the first ones to come. That would kind of put my mind to rest as far as my final four. I’d know I had all four of those and then it’s just finding the best fit for me. It would just help me to know that I had that last option because it’s a really great school."

When Hamm needs to collect his recruiting thoughts, he often turns to Braelon Allen, who reclassified from the 2022 class in order to sign with the Badgers in December. Hamm is hopeful he'll be able to take official visits this summer as he closes in on a final decision.

"Braelon is one of my closest friends as far as one of these in-state football players," Hamm said. "Whether it's FaceTime or texting, we definitely share the ins and outs of being a recruit. Balancing school and football and our social lives, so it’s just good to have a dude who’s in the same boat as me who can understand what happens on a daily basis.

"Every kid who’s a four- and five-star recruit, they’ve definitely worked for every one of those stars, so they should be rewarded with those officials and all those visits. I don’t think it’s a huge deal because, in my eyes, I’m still a football player and I’m still working to get to college. It hasn’t been a huge impact but it would definitely be great if I have a chance to take those officials."