Fort Hill standouts King, Hamilton reunite in Morgantown

Sep. 14—MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia University has many supporters in the Cumberland region, regardless of how many local players are on the Mountaineers.

This year's team features two Fort Hill alums and close friends in fullback Luke Hamilton and kicker Danny King.

The former Sentinels spent the 2017 season as teammates on varsity and helped Fort Hill finish 12-2 overall. Fort Hill fell short of a state title in a 30-26 defeat to Dunbar.

Hamilton and King share a close bond that dates back to playing for the Rangers in the Dapper Dan baseball league.

"Being around sports in the same age divisions, I would play with Luke," King said. "He's always been a role model for me."

Hamilton graduated from Fort Hill in 2018 and spent the next five years at Towson University. He was considered one of the top fullbacks in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA).

"It was an awesome experience, I loved Towson," Hamilton said. "I'm more than grateful for my time at Towson. I never wanted to leave, but we got a new coaching staff and we both realized I wasn't gonna be the best fit there. I didn't wanna leave, but it was best for my future. I ended up right where I was supposed to be."

Hamilton was a second-team All-CAA selection as a junior where he was primarily used as a blocker. He caught six passes for 43 yards and ran twice for five yards.

As a redshirt freshman, he was the lead blocker for a Tigers offense that averaged 4.4 yards per rush. He led the way for Yeedee Thaenrat who was a second-team All-CAA running back. Thaenrat rushed 126 times for 746 yards and 14 touchdowns.

"I definitely take a lot of pride in it," Hamilton said. " It's one of those roles you have to be a selfless person. I do my best to engage in it, live up to it and put in the work for everyone else. Do the work in the shadows, it's all brought to life in the end."

When asked of his favorite memories at Towson, he mentioned the playoff game against Duquesne in 2018. The Tigers fell 31-10 in a contest featuring torrential downpour throughout.

"That game was crazy," he said. "I've never played in so much rain in my life. The field wasn't draining, just pools of water all over the field."

Hamilton spent one year with former Fort Hill linebacker Blake White at Towson. Earlier this summer, White said he thought Towson's former head coach Rob Ambrose reminded him of former Fort Hill head coach Todd Appel. Hamilton agreed with the comparison.

"I see them being in a similar boat," Hamilton said. "Both coaches, I can't possibly have enough respect for each of them. They carry the same style of coaching, care about players the same way."

In his high school career, Hamilton helped the Sentinels win two state titles and finish 38-3 overall. He won two area Defensive Player of the Year awards and recorded over 500 tackles.

As a senior, he finished with 182 tackles including 14 for loss and 10 sacks. He recorded 52 pancake blocks on offense.

Hamilton transferred to West Virginia as a graduate transfer for his redshirt senior season. He chose the Mountaineers over offers from St. Francis and Robert Morris among others.

"I recruited him here, I'll take some credit for that," King said. "Once he got into the portal I texted him right away. When he got here it was pretty cool seeing him here. It felt like we were back in high school again."

Hamilton expects to play in short yardage and goal line packages on offense. He will be featured heavily on special teams.

King graduated from Fort Hill in 2019 as one of the nation's top kicking prospects. He was Kornblue Kicking Camp's No. 3 national prospect and the No. 10 punter prospect.

"I think it was consistency throughout high school," King said of what made him nationally ranked. "Not only at camps, but in games. It's cool being ranked, it was neat having that experience. But once you get to college, none of that matters."

King was offered a preferred walk-on spot by the Mountaineers and committed. He had offers from Towson and Morgan State and a preferred walk-on offer from Virginia Tech. After not playing his first two collegiate seasons, he made his debut against Hamilton's Tigers last year.

Against Towson, he kicked off four times totalling 195 yards.

King made two extra points in West Virginia's game against Duquenne on on Saturday.

At Fort Hill, King was the first-team All-Area kicker three straight seasons. As a senior he made all 65 extra point attempts and went 3 for 7 on field goals. He was also the first-team All-Area punter twice and averaged 39.3 yards on 12 punts with two inside the 20-yard line as a senior.

When asked of his favorite memories at Fort Hill, King mentioned playing with two of his cousins. He spent the 2017 season with his older cousin JT Stevenson and 2019 with his younger cousin Allan Stevenson.

"Winning a state championship with JT was a pretty cool moment," he said. "I've always looked up to him. Playing with Allen was another favorite memory. Being the older cousin, showing him what to do, how to do things. Those memories will last a lifetime."

King battled for the starting job this season, but the Mountaineers went with Michael Hayes. For now, King is the backup kickoff specialist.

In this year's Blue-Gold spring game, King made a 42-yard field goal to win the game for the Blue, 56-51.

"That moment meant a lot," he said. "I didn't have the best spring. A lot of my family members were there which I didn't know. It was cool having the team surround me afterwards. Going up into the bleachers to see family and everyone there to support me was pretty cool. They're my rocks so seeing them there to support me meant the world."

If King becomes the starter at some point this season, he will be West Virginia's second starting kicker in recent memory from the Cumberland area.

Evan Staley played five seasons for the Mountaineers from 2017 to 2021 after graduating from Hampshire High School in Romney, West Virginia. Staley finished his collegiate career third in West Virginia history with 53 games played. He is also sixth in extra points made (117) and seventh in field goals made (39).

"I've known Evan quite some time," King said. "He's almost like a big brother to me for advice for kicking. Coming here when he was at the end of his career was pretty cool. I got to learn from him, he was a good role model to follow."

Staley was a first-team Academic All-Big 12 selection five consecutive years. He was named the Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week in 2019 after making three field goals against Kansas.

In the 2018 Camping World Bowl against Syracuse, he set the bowl game's record with four field goals made including one from 49 yards out. The 49-yarder was the longest in the bowl's history, but was surpassed the following year when Notre Dame's Jonathan Doerer made a 51-yarder.

At Hampshire, Staley won the Fulton Walker Award as a senior, regognizing the top special teams player in West Virginia. He was a two time All-State and All-Area selection.

West Virginia has a devoted fan base in the Cumberland area. Both players discussed how they've felt the support from Allegany County in Morgantown.

"You can't beat it, it's what I dreamed of as a kid," Hamilton said. "It's what I wanted, I wanted to be a West Virginia football player. It's awesome to fill those shoes and know everyone back home's rooting for me."

Jordan Kendall is a Sports Writer for the Cumberland Times-News. Follow him on Twitter @JKendallCTN.