FOXBOROUGH — Woodrow Hamilton has never been a president. Not of his graduating classes at Raleigh (Miss.) High or Ole Miss. Not even any of the extracurricular clubs he’s belonged to.
“Nah,’’ said the Patriots rookie defensive tackle. “I wish.’’
Reminded that he has very presidential-sounding name (OK, Hamilton never got to the Oval Office, but play along), the 6-foot-3-inch, 315-pounder laughed like a little kid.
“All my life I’ve heard that,’’ he said. “I just laugh. You have to have a sense of humor.’’
What’s been no laughing matter has been Hamilton’s rise from undrafted rookie to NFL starter. Hamilton earned a spot on New England’s practice squad out of camp and had been cruising along under the radar until last weekend, when he was promoted to the active roster, a decision based in part by fellow rookie Vincent Valentine’s back injury and Hamilton’s steady progress.
“Anybody in this position, you want to be able to have worked hard enough to be called up,’’ said Hamilton. “So it was a good feeling.’’
Reminded that coach Bill Belichick praised Hamilton’s progress over the last month, Hamilton agreed that it has been a productive period.
“Of course I noticed some improvements — if they called me up and trusted me enough to put me out on the field to help my teammates,’’ he said.
Belichick and defensive coordinator Matt Patricia put Hamilton on the field on the first play against the Browns and the rookie was tested right away. Hamilton held his ground against a double team, allowing fellow tackle Malcom Brown to drop running back Isaiah Crowell.
“Getting that first play out of the way [was nice]. I’m not going to say I knew I could do it because it was my first game,’’ said Hamilton. “But I just had confidence because of my preparation and what I do with my teammates in practice.’’
Hamilton finished with three tackles at a position that isn’t always stat friendly — as his first play illustrates. He played 22 snaps on defense and two more on special teams. After the game, he received locker room kudos from Belichick.
“It just made me realize I have to keep working,’’ said Hamilton. “Keep working to build the trust with my teammates and my coaches so we can focus on the task at hand.’’
Building trust and focusing on the task at hand. Sounds like a pretty good platform for a prospective presidential candidate to run on.
Freeny, Scruggs to IR
The Patriots placed linebacker Jonathan Freeny and tight end Greg Scruggs on injured reserve Saturday. Freeny has been dealing with a shoulder injury, and Scruggs was seen on crutches this week after suffering a knee injury. Second-year defensive end Geneo Grissom and defensive tackle Anthony Johnson were promoted from the practice squad to take their place. This is the second stint on the 53-man roster for Johnson, who made the team out of camp before being released and re-signed to the practice squad . . . The Bengals feature a physical defense — particularly the front seven — and running back James White said it’ll be important to match that physicality Sunday. “That means you have to lower your pads and bring it to them,’’ said White. “They’re going to try to hit you, so just run physical and block physical and try to stay with them as long as possible.’’ . . . White and Bengals tailback Giovani Bernard were high school teammates at St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and are still close but don’t talk during game week . . . Several Patriots will participate in the makeover of the school grounds and classrooms at the Sarah Greenwood Elementary School in Dorchester on Tuesday as part of the team’s Hometown Huddle partnership with the United Way.
