Football recruiting: Hammond to Wisconsin, Heard to Nebraska

After missing his junior season with a severe ankle injury, Boardman receiver Chase Hammond knew there he had to disprove a lot of skeptics this fall.

“Every game, I went out there with something to prove,” he said. “No one thought I was as good as I was. So I said, ‘I’ll show you how good I am.’ ”

Hammond started the season with a 156-yard game against eventual state champion Cardinal Mooney and never slowed down, earning third team All-Ohio honors, as well as first team all-district and All-Federal League.

Oh yeah, and a scholarship from the University of Wisconsin.

Hammond (6-foot-4, 205 pounds) broke single-season school records in the regular season for receptions (56) and yards (986). He also started at free safety for the Spartans, who finished 7-4 and made the playoffs.

He was one of two area standouts who made college decisions last weekend, joining Mooney senior RB Braylon Heard, who switched his commitment from West Virginia to Nebraska.

Read the story in Tuesday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com.