Peaks and valleys are part of life, but at the center of the Christian faith is the belief that God is in the middle of them all. Jacksonville Jaguars defensive lineman DaVon Hamilton publicly professed that truth over the weekend when, after a year of highs and lows on and off the field, he was baptized.
>> Subscribe to Sports Spectrum Magazine for more stories where sports and faith connect <<
“All praise to God,” he shared on his Instagram story, along with a video of the baptism that was shared by teammate Daniel Thomas.
View this post on Instagram
In April 2023, Hamilton signed a three-year contract extension with the Jaguars, after starting 14 games the previous season. He played in all 17 regular-season games in 2022, setting career-highs with 2.5 sacks and 56 tackles.
Later that summer, he and his wife welcomed their first child, a son.
“Outside of marrying the love of my life, this has been the greatest blessing God has offered to me,” Hamilton wrote on Instagram. “I can’t wait for more wonderful moments with you both. Love you both to the moon and back.”
View this post on Instagram
Coming off his best season, Hamilton was ready to make good on the new contract and commitment the Jaguars showed to him. But in August during the preseason, he developed a spinal abscess, a major infection that kept him sidelined for the first seven games of the season.
Hamilton starred at Ohio State University and was a third-round pick by the Jaguars in 2020. With the diagnosis, a promising career ahead of him was all of a sudden at risk of being cut short.
“A lot of stuff was going on,” Hamilton said in December on O-Zone, a Jaguars podcast. “A lot of side effects were going on. I was in a weird place. This isn’t really a normal illness, or a normal infection people get. It was very strange. I feel very fortunate. There was a lot of stuff that could have happened. I could be not playing football permanently.
“I’m incredibly blessed to be back where I am. I’m so thankful for the people who supported me.”
He eventually returned to play in eight games and start two of them. While the stats won’t jump off the page, the fact that he has numbers in the “games played” and “games started” columns for the 2023 season was a “blessing” and a reminder that God is in control.
“You know, this is God’s process,” he told First Coast News in January. “I can’t control anything that is going on. God is going to have a plan for me and this was His plan.”
RELATED STORIES:
— Oklahoma softball win streak ends, team celebrates Kierston Deal baptism
— WWE legend Hulk Hogan baptized: ‘Total surrender and dedication to Jesus’
— Hall of Fame quarterback, Buffalo Bills legend Jim Kelly gets baptized
— Hailey Van Lith gets baptized, aims to ‘offer my life to serve Jesus’
— Trevor Lawrence aims to ‘be a light’ for Christ as he leads resurgent Jaguars
