The Kyle Hamilton hype train left the station during fall camp in 2019, when members of the media fell in love with the highly ranked freshman after witnessing his seven interceptions in Notre Dame’s six open practices.
Wisely, Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly made an effort to downplay the hype, refusing to reference Hamilton by name during press conferences in early August. But by the end of fall camp, even Kelly couldn’t avoid singing his praises.
“It’s very unique to have the suddenness and change of direction, which offers him incredible range, obviously, and length as a pass defender,” Kelly said near the end of fall camp in 2019. “I can’t tell you that I’ve seen a player that can change direction and carry himself with that kind of range on the backend. That’s unusual.
“And then instincts. He hasn’t even watched film yet, but when he sees a play, he’s able to diagnose it. I was telling Terry Joseph that’s great coaching, but the young man clearly has great instincts and he’s gifted.”
What did Hamilton do with such lofty expectations placed on him by his head coach?
As a rookie, he went on to lead the team in interceptions with four, tied senior cornerback Troy Pride Jr. for second in passes defended with six and had more tackles than any other defensive back on the roster outside of senior safety Alohi Gilman — all while serving the team in a reserve role. At the end of the season, Hamilton was named a Freshman All-American by multiple outlets.
Now, the confidence Fighting Irish fans and the national media have in Hamiltion’s college football ascension couldn’t be higher.
Pro Football Focus and ESPN recently released a list of the top 10 returning safeties in college football.
Surprise, surprise ... Hamilton made the cut, appearing on the list at No. 5 and as the only true freshman.
“True freshman safety Hamilton could not have done much more in coverage for the Fighting Irish last season,” PFF’s Anthony Treash wrote. “The 6-foot-4 defensive back finished among the five best safeties in the country in PFF coverage grade and had more interceptions plus pass breakups [nine] than catches allowed [seven].”
Only 30.4 percent of the passes thrown Hamilton’s way last season resulted in a reception, which equated to a 1.3 NFL passer rating for opposing quarterbacks, one of the lowest in the nation.
