He's a sly one, that Dominic Hamilton.

A University of Incarnate Word wide receiver, Hamilton is hardly an imposing figure at 5-foot-10 - "in my cleats" - and 175 pounds. He isn't slow but he's no speedster, either.

Hamilton may look average when he lines up, but he transforms himself into a force after the ball is snapped. A redshirt freshman and Smithson Valley graduate, Hamilton has shown a flair for consistently getting open and catching the football.

What's more, he has a knack for eluding defenders after making a reception. In a span of three games, Hamilton has become one of the most exciting players on the Cardinals' roster.

UIW head coach Mike Santiago has an explanation for Hamilton's impressive "YAC," yardage after catch in football jargon.

"I tell Dom that the reason they can't tackle him is because they're laughing so hard," Santiago joked Tuesday. "He's not big, he's not fast and he's not good looking. I'm still trying to figure out what his redeeming value is."

Santiago was joking, of course. He knows full well the impact Hamilton has had on the offense since he caught his first collegiate touchdown pass in the Cards' 38-35 overtime victory over Panhandle State on Oct. 3.

Hamilton has set a torrid pace, finishing with two TD receptions in each of UIW's past three games. The Cards have won all three to improve to 4-3 in their first season in school history.

Hamilton is the team's leading receiver despite missing the first three games of the season with a slight tear in his right hamstring. He has caught 19 passes for 403 yards and the six TDs, and is averaging an impressive 21.2 yards per catch and 100.8 yards per game.

"Being here for a full year now, I've learned this offense," Hamilton said. "It has soaked in. I'm going out there and finding the right spots and not getting frazzled. I've built confidence in myself and I think our team has become more confident, too."

UIW, competing as an NCAA Division II independent before jumping to the Lone Star Conference next year, plays Southwestern Assembles of God at 2 p.m. Saturday in Waxahachie.

Hamilton has scorched defenses the past two weeks, catching seven passes for 188 yards in a 38-20 victory over East Central Oklahoma on Oct. 10 and six passes for 123 yards in a 53-18 rout of Texas Lutheran on Saturday.

"What amazes me is his YAC (again, that's yardage after catch)," Santiago said. "Dom has a good feel for the passing game and a knack for getting open. He has shown an amazing quality for running with the ball after he makes the catch."

Five of the six TD passes Hamilton has caught have been thrown by redshirt freshman Eric Massoni, who supplanted junior Thomas Specia as the Cards' starting quarterback after coming off the bench to rally them past Panhandle State.

The Panhandle game was Hamilton's coming-out party, too. He came up big after senior wide receiver Todd Walker suffered a concussion, finishing with five catches for 83 yards and two TDs.

UIW overcame a 35-21 deficit and forced overtime with two fourth-quarter TD passes from Massoni to Hamilton, the first with 3:49 left and the second with 1:10 remaining, and a pair of extra-point kicks by Thomas Rebold.

"Dom and Massoni are starting to click," Santiago said. "They both have a feel for each other."

While Hamilton said Massoni "throws a nice ball," he also gave Specia some props.

"Thomas does a great job, too," Hamilton said. "It's good to have two quarterbacks with that kind of talent not only to be prepared in case of injury, but to hit a defense with a chance of pace."

Hamilton hurt his hamstring on the fourth day of preseason workouts and was held out of drills because he couldn't run. He has seen action in every game as the holder for extra points and field goals.

"It was definitely tough not being able to play wide receiver the first three games," Hamilton said. "I did feel left out. That's just the way it is when you're injured. The strange thing is, I missed the first three games of my senior season at Smithson Valley with a knee injury.

"After working so hard for a year, I was really looking forward to the start of this season. The anticipation had built up. Now that I'm back, it makes me appreciate playing even more. It's definitely been a jump for all of us, but I think we've proven a lot of people wrong by winning more games than we were expected to."

Hamilton caught his first pass of the season in a 17-14 loss to Langston State (Okla.) on Sept. 26.

Hamilton played cornerback as a junior at Smithson Valley, but started at wide receiver and also saw action at quarterback his senior year. The Cards have three other Smithson Valley players on their roster, linebacker Dakota Mawyer, safety Aaron Hernandez and running back Trent Rios.

Recruited by only a handful of colleges, most of them Division III schools, Hamilton sent game films of his junior season to UIW coaches.

"I thought I may wind up playing defensive back," he said. "I don't know how many people thought I could make it as a college wide receiver. I'm not big and I'm not fast, but I'm one of the most competitive guys on the team. I wanted to prove people wrong."

So far, he's done that and much more.

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