Small and mighty

In 2019 a running back from San Francisco, California, caught the attention of Cornell football coaches. Although they saw his film highlights, they didn’t get to recruit Daniel Abesames-Hammer ’24 in person. The pandemic prevented him and many of his classmates from coming to campus until move-in day. 

When he did arrive, Head Football Coach Dan Pifer had a moment of doubt. At 5-foot-1 and 125 pounds, Abesames-Hammer is by far the smallest player Pifer has ever coached. 

“I knew he was small, and I’ve had some small running backs. When he got here I thought, ‘Man, he is small. Wow, he might get killed,’” Pifer said. “But he’s a tough kid. He told me, ‘Coach, I just want a chance.’ I said, ‘You can do that here.’”

Abesames-Hammer said he got a lot of looks at their first team meeting. 

“But what the heck, I know who I am,” he said. “I’m not going to tell someone I’m taller. I just try to be the best I can.”

He impressed a lot of people in practice that first week, Pifer said. 

“He’s kind of hard to hit because he just keeps moving, he’s shifty. He doesn’t want to be treated differently, and that’s why the other players like him. It shows you that he’s going to be successful in whatever he does, with that attitude of hard work and getting things done.”

Abesames-Hammer gets about 15 to 20 snaps a game on offense. Twice last season he led the team in rushing. Pifer said he’s good at pass protection and, due to his size, has techniques no one else can even think of doing.

USA Today wrote a story on him headlined “Daniel Abesames-Hammer of Division III Cornell College among smallest college football players ever.” Pifer said he believes he’s the smallest college football player who’s actually played in a game.

Abesames-Hammer contributes to the team in numerous ways, and not just on the field.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever seen him in a bad mood. That rubs off on the other players. He just likes life,” Pifer said. “He’s overcome a lot of obstacles to play the game. If he does something good on the football field, it just echoes down the sidelines.”

If you ask Abesames-Hammer how he contributes out of uniform, he will tell you he’s the team’s designated DJ. 

“I play music in the locker room. And anytime on weekends, I’m usually playing music. Basic hip hop. I like singing in the shower,” he said.

He still has not missed a game due to injury, although he did have a major injury in high school. 

He’s majoring in kinesiology with a goal of becoming a physical therapist and athletic trainer and football coach. He said he appreciates Cornell’s One Course At A Time curriculum because it helps create a routine: Class, eat, class, football.

He works hard to be the quickest on the field and hardest to tackle. Last summer he lifted weights and drank two protein drinks every day to bulk up. But once he returned to Iowa’s heat and humidity, he sweated that weight off in practice and ended up right back at 125 pounds. To improve his speed for his senior season, he went out for track as a sprinter and plans to prepare even harder this summer.

Abesames-Hammer’s stepfather introduced him to football, watching games together and teaching him how to play. A high school physical education teacher told him he had talent and encouraged him to pursue the sport, even though Abesames-Hammer’s mother, a doctor’s assistant at University of California-Davis, had concerns. By the time he enrolled at Cornell, her bigger concern was sending her son so far away from home. 

Not surprisingly, Abesames-Hammer is a fan favorite.

“There’s definitely a charisma about him,” Pifer said. “Everybody wants to meet him. He’s an inspiration: If you want to play badly enough, there’s a way regardless of size.”