Leesville, La. —
Some 18 years ago, Ronald Hamm watched his young son Jeron use balloons to play basketball and football around the house.
Little did he or his wife, Sonya, know at the time just what was in store for their budding athlete.
On Wednesday, Jeron Hamm signed a national letter of intent to play collegiate football at the University of Louisiana-Monroe in front of an auditorium full of Leesville High School students, along with teachers and administrators.
"This is exciting for our family," Ronald Hamm said. "As a baby, Jeron always played sports. And now, to see my son get to do what he loves at the next level, plus also get a quality education, I just know he will do well. I am looking forward to see what he can accomplish because I know just how focused and well-disciplined he is."
Hamm, who stands 6-4 and weighs in at 200 pounds, opted to attend Louisiana-Monroe a recent coaching change and offers from Southeastern Louisiana and Central Arkansas.
"It was such a great atmosphere in Monroe," Jeron Hamm said. "I liked the campus and the coaches at first. Then after the coaching change, I went back up there and I came back feeling we could have a winning program up there."
One of the big draws for Hamm was the chance to play against the Southeastern Conference, along with Louisiana-Monroe's affiliation with the Sun Belt Conference, which has a direct link to the GMAC Bowl.
In fact, as a freshman, Hamm will get the opportunity to play against the likes of Auburn, LSU and Arkansas, meeting up with old Wampus Cat teammates Travante Stallworth and Michael Ford, who are at Auburn and LSU, respectively.
Hamm's family moved to the Leesville area back in 1997, where Jeron Hamm began to focus on playing basketball. As he entered the junior high ranks, a lot of his friends began playing football. They convinced him to join in.
By his sophomore year, Hamm was beginning to really enjoy football and decided to make it his focus.
"After playing football, I really started to like it," he recalled. "I liked the physical aspect of the game. But I still loved basketball, but I realized as a 6-4 center, it may not be possible to play at the next level."
As a junior for the Wampus Cat football team, Hamm moved into the starting lineup in the spread attack. He caught eight passes for 113 yards and two touchdowns in the run-first offense as the Cats went 10-2 before being eliminated in the second round of the playoffs.
His senior year began with a new head coach, David Feaster, and a little uncertainty as to how things would pan out for the Cats.
Hamm stepped up in the passing game and became a leader for the Wampus Cats, reeling in 40 passes for 748 yards and eight touchdowns. The yardage and touchdowns are Wampus Cat single-season records.
Over his career, Hamm had 48 receptions for 861 yards and 10 touchdowns. He is sixth on the Wampus Cat all-time receptions list, tied for third on the touchdown list and is fifth in receiving yards.
Feaster believes Hamm will be the type of player the University of Louisiana-Monroe will not regret signing.
"I feel like we are sending UL-Monroe our best and brightest in Jeron," Feaster said. "First thing, there is no down side to Jeron. When talking to college coaches, I don't have to apologize about his attitude, his work ethic or substandard grades. They are able to look at his film, see his athletic ability and know he is someone they want on their team.
"Signing Jeron is something they won't regret doing," Feaster added. "He's quite a young man."
Hamm, who scored a 22 on his ACT and sports an overall grade-point average of 3.0000 would love to play in the National Football League some day. However, he realizes he has a few things to do first.
"My goal is to focus on being a great player for Louisiana-Monroe and to get a degree in psychology," he said. "The NFL is in the back of my mind, but I have things to do at UL-Monroe first."
