Linebacker Shaun Dion Hamilton looked different at his second minicamp with the Washington Redskins this week than he did as a rookie from Alabama one year ago.

“When I look at the tape, Shaun Dion has showed up more so than any time I’ve seen Shaun Dion,” Washington coach Jay Gruden said during a press conference wrapping up mandatory minicamp on Thursday. “He’s healthy. He’s running faster -- way faster now than he was at this time last year. He looks fast. He looks instinctive. He’s what we thought we could get when we drafted him from Alabama, so he’s set.”

Preparing for his ninth NFL season and fifth with the Redskins, linebacker Mason Foster also had praise for Hamilton's offseason work.

“He looks great, man,” Foster said. “He had a good intro year last year, you know. He’s been studying really hard and working hard this whole offseason, so there’s big things ahead of him. We got a glimpse of it last year, and it’s going to be exciting to see how he develops into his second year.”

Hamilton said a year of adjustment to the NFL had made a difference for him.

“I’m definitely comfortable,” Hamilton said. "I mean, a year in the system and just a year being a professional, just learning the ropes and going about how to take care of your body and certain things like that.”

Hamilton’s development took on greater urgency on May 20, when former Alabama teammate Reuben Foster went down during Washington’s practice with a knee injury. The linebacker tore the anterior cruciate and lateral collateral ligaments in his left knee. He had surgery last week and will miss the 2019 season.

“I was bawling,” Hamilton said of his reaction to Foster’s injury.

Hamilton said he had spent time with Foster since the injury.

“He was like, ‘Yeah, you’ll be there for me, be able to help me out because you’ve been through two of these knee braces,’” Hamilton said. "So that’s all I try to do, just be there for him because I’ve been through it. Just help him and keep his spirits up.

"I told him, 'It's going to be a battle.' But the thing is a storm doesn't last forever. I'm going to be with him every step of the way. I know how it is when one day it's sorer than the other. One day you feel good; the next day it's painful. It's important you just have a level head."

Hamilton's final two seasons at Alabama ended early. In 2016, he tore the ACL in his right knee during the SEC Championship Game. In 2017, Hamilton sustained a broken right kneecap against LSU, which kept him sidelined for the final five games of the season and depressed his draft stock down to the sixth round, where he joined the Redskins as the 197th overall selection in 2018.

In four preseason games, Hamilton hit the opposing ball-carrier in the backfield 10 times, the most in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus. But when the regular season arrived, the former Carver-Montgomery standout played only nine defensive snaps in the first 12 games.

Hamilton finished his rookie season by starting the final four games. The Redskins took Zack Brown, who recorded 127 tackles in 2017 and 96 in 2018, out of the lineup to give Hamilton an opportunity.

Hamilton responded with 23 tackles in 120 defensive snaps.

Brown is now with the Philadelphia Eagles, and during minicamp this week, Hamilton and Mason Foster worked as the inside linebackers with Washington's first-team defense.

Two days after Foster got hurt, Washington signed Jonathan Bostic, who started at inside linebacker for the Indianapolis Colts in 2017 and the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2018. The Redskins also have Josh Harvey-Clemons, a two-year veteran considered strong in coverage, and rookie Cole Holcomb, a fifth-round draft pick from North Carolina, available at inside linebacker.

While Gruden said “I like where they’re at” about Hamilton and Foster on Thursday, he also said there remained “a lot of ball to be played before we start making those decisions” when asked if the Washington lineup would stay that way.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.