Benjamin Thomas Hamilton (born August 18, 1977) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

and center for 10 seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

, and was a two-time consensus

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

. The

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

picked him in the fourth round of the

2001 NFL draft The 2001 NFL draft was the 66th draft annual of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible professional football players. The draft, which is officially referred to as the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at the Th ...

, and he played professionally for the Broncos and

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

of the NFL.

Early life

Hamilton was born in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

, the son of former

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

offensive lineman Wes Hamilton. He attended Wayzata High School in

Plymouth, Minnesota Plymouth is a city in Hennepin County in the U.S. state of Minnesota. A suburb in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, the city is about west of downtown Minneapolis. The population was 81,026 at the 2020 census, making it Minnes ...

, and was all-state selection in football. He graduated in 1996.

College career

He attended the University of Minnesota, where he played for the

Minnesota Golden Gophers football The Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represents the University of Minnesota in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Founded in 1882, Minnesota has been a member of the Big Ten Conference since its incept ...

team from 1996 to 2000. He was a two-time first-team All-Big Ten selection, and was recognized as a consensus first-team

in 1999 and 2000.

Professional career

He was selected by the Denver Broncos in the fourth round of the

. After playing his entire career with the Broncos, Hamilton signed with the

on April 20, 2010. On November 2, 2010, Hamilton was placed on injured reserve. On December 22, Hamilton was waived from the injury list.

Post NFL career

Hamilton is currently a full-time mathematics teacher at Valor Christian High School in

Highlands Ranch, CO Highlands Ranch is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community and a Census-designated place, census-designated place (CDP) located in and governed by Douglas County, Colorado, Douglas County, Colorado, United States. The CDP ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Ben 1977 births Living people All-American college football players American football centers American football offensive guards Berlin Thunder players Denver Broncos players Minnesota Golden Gophers football players Players of American football from Minneapolis Seattle Seahawks players