Saying 'heart still lies with the Badgers,' Heisman finalist returns to finish career, improve NFL stock
Not sure what Thomas Hammock can do for an encore. Hammock's first year as Wisconsin's running backs coach saw his star protégé, Montee Ball, lead the nation in rushing, be named a Heisman Trophy finalist and tie Barry Sanders' NCAA record for touchdowns scored in a season. That constitutes a pretty good debut.
Hammock returned to UW in 2011 after spending the previous four seasons at Minnesota. He was a graduate assistant with the Badgers in 2003 and 2004.
"Thomas is a coach that I have watched grow and am excited to finally have as a part of our staff," Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema said upon hiring Hammock. "I first met Thomas when I was the defensive coordinator at Wisconsin eight years ago and I have been impressed with his coaching ability and work ethic ever since. He has worked his way up in the coaching ranks, and is a great addition to our coaching staff. He will help us in all three phases that are important to us, recruiting the right players for Wisconsin, developing players on the field and molding them into successful young men off the field."
Hammock proved Bielema right in 2011. Ball, who rushed for 996 yards as a sophomore, took the nation by storm as a junior. He led the country with 1,923 rushing yards, the 22nd-best total in NCAA history and third-best in school annals. Ball was almost unstoppable near the end zone, scoring 39 TDs to tie Sanders' NCAA record and lead the country (12 more than the next player). He scored at least two touchdowns in all 13 of the Badgers' regular-season games, setting an NCAA record for consecutive multiple-TD games.
Ball was duly rewarded for his excellence, becoming UW's first Heisman Trophy finalist since 1999, earning the Big Ten's Graham-George Offensive Player of the Year Award and being named a consensus first-team All-American. A Doak Walker Award finalist, Ball also earned the Chicago Tribune's Silver Football Award, given to the Big Ten's Most Valuable Player, and the Archie Griffin Award, presented by the Touchdown Club of Columbus to college football's Most Valuable Player.
In addition to Ball, UW's James White ran for more than 700 yards. In total, UW's running backs had 2,927 yards on the ground (5.8 yards per carry) and scored 41 rushing TDs. Badger running backs were also threats through the air as they combined to catch 61 passes for 716 yards and six TDs.
As a team, Wisconsin led the Big Ten and ranked 11th in the country in rushing offense, averaging 235.6 yards per game on the ground. The Badgers' 48 rushing touchdowns tied the single-season conference record. UW finished the season ranked sixth in the country in scoring offense (44.1 points per game) and 14th in total offense (469.9 yards per game), leading the Big Ten in both categories.
Before re-joining the Badger staff, Hammock spent the previous four seasons at Minnesota. Following three seasons as the running backs coach, Hammock was the Gophers' co-offensive coordinator in 2010. Under Hammock, the UM offense moved up 26 places in the national ranking for rushing offense and 34 in total offense over the previous season. Following a mid-season coaching transition, Hammock took over play-calling duties for the final five games. During those five games, he led an offense that helped the team secure wins in its final two games, including its first rivalry win in four years, defeating Iowa for the Floyd of Rosedale trophy.
Prior to joining Minnesota, Hammock served as the running backs coach at Northern Illinois. Under Hammock's tutelage, NIU running back Garrett Wolfe led the nation in rushing (148.3 ypg) and all-purpose yardage (167.0 ypg) in 2006. Wolfe was named the 2006 MAC Offensive Player of the Year and was first-team All-MAC in both 2005 and 2006.
Hammock spent two seasons as a graduate assistant at Wisconsin from 2003-04, helping the Badgers make Music City (2003) and Outback (2004) bowl appearances.
As a player, Hammock ranks ninth on the Northern Illinois all-time rushing list with 2,432 career yards. He logged 1,083 yards as a sophomore in 2000, ranking 12th in the NCAA (120.3 ypg.), and posted 1,095 yards as a junior.
Unfortunately, Hammock's senior season was cut short due to a potentially life-threatening heart condition in 2002. Adversity propelled his coaching career as he turned his attention towards becoming a student coach and helped Michael Turner post a MAC single-season rushing record of 1,915 yards in 2002.
Hammock earned his bachelor's degree from Northern Illinois in 2002 and a master's from Wisconsin in 2004. He and his wife, Cheynnitha, have one daughter, Tierra.
The Hammock File Hometown: Jersey City, N.J. College: Northern Illinois, 2002 Wife: Cheynnitha Children: daughter, Tierra
Bowl Games Coached 2003 Music City Bowl 2004 Outback Bowl 2006 Poinsettia 2008 Insight 2009 Insight 2011 Big Ten Football Championship Game 2012 Rose Bowl
Playing Experience 1999-2002: Northern Illinois (running back)
