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A mystery that lingered over this past Air Force football season was the future of Donald Hammond III.
Hammond was classified as a cadet “no longer in good standing” last July. Head coach Troy Calhoun was mum about Hammond’s future at the academy in the preseason. And in October, Hammond entered the transfer portal, according to multiple reports.
On Monday, Hammond made his future clear on Twitter. He is “no longer attached to the United States Air Force” and he is entering the NFL Draft.
I guess this means it’s official now. Just to keep yall updated on what I’ve been up to pic.twitter.com/rLPh11VMje
— Dj Hammond (@dhamm_3) February 15, 2021
Hammond was a key reason why Air Force had one of its most successful football seasons ever in 2019. With the 6-foot-2 Hampton, Georgia native under-center, Air Force went 11-2, beat Army, beat Colorado and then beat Washington State in the Cheez-It Bowl – a game in which Hammond rushed for two touchdowns.
With 26 total touchdowns, Hammond was second in scores in the Mountain West in 2019. He completed 56-of-111 passes for 1,316 yards and 13 touchdowns, and also rushed for 553 yards and another 13 touchdowns in 2019, which led the team’s option attack. Hammond’s 177.88 quarterback efficiency rating was second-best in school history. Among Group of Five quarterbacks, Pro Football Focus gave Hammond the second-highest rating.
The previous season, Hammond threw for five touchdowns and rushed for nine.
A two-star recruit in 2016, Hammond also had offers from Army and Wyoming, according to Rivals and 247sports. Rivals says that Kent State, Navy and FCS power James Madison extended offers as well.
The NFL Draft begins on April 29 and ends on May 1. Since 2000, just one Air Force player has been drafted: long snapper Austin Cutting in 2019. Should Hammond be selected, he’d be the first former Air Force quarterback drafted by an NFL team.