At the 2016 Tony Awards, the enormously popular musical “Hamilton” received a record-breaking 16 nominations and achieved 11 awards, and also earned the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
Plenty of awards and accolades on the grand stage await Notre Dame’s own (Kyle) Hamilton, the 6-4, 219-pound sophomore safety who embodies the definition of “stud.”
A 2019 Freshman All-American, Hamilton led the team in interceptions (four), was second in pass breakups (6) and seventh in tackles (41) — while having mainly a part-time role behind now graduated captains Alohi Gilman (Los Angeles Chargers) and Jalen Elliott (Detroit Lions).
This year during Notre Dame’s 3-0 start he is tied for the team lead in tackles (15, with 13 solo) with fellow All-America candidate/rover Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, despite missing the second half of the Duke opener and all the USF game with an ankle injury.
Although some timing aspects were off in last Saturday’s 42-26 win over Florida State, his eight solo stops again tied for the team lead. It occurred after what he described as “iffy” practices — following nearly 10 days of none — when a coronavirus spike hit the program in late September, forcing the switch of the Sept. 26 Wake Forest game to Dec. 12.
When asked about the return of Hamilton for FSU and beyond, head coach Brian Kelly highlighted his ear-to-ear smile.
“He's a difference-maker,” Kelly summarized. “He covers ground like no safety that I have coached. He plays with physicality. He's smart. He's a terrific football player. His presence is felt out there. He closes.
“He's an eraser, too. Just by his size, he makes it difficult for teams to go into his area, whether it's in run game or pass game. And I say that after spending a little bit more time specifically watching him and his impact over the last three games.”
If Hamilton is caught up in the adulation, he covers it as well as he does receivers in his area of the field.
“In terms of people saying like I’m a star or whatever, that’s good and all but I try not to get caught up in that,” he said. “I try not to look too much into social media and stuff like that. Just try to be myself and keep down the path that I’m going, because distractions, all they do is just slow me down. If I stay to myself and follow my orders and do my job, I feel like I’ll be successful.”
He didn’t even take umbrage to originally having the relatively average three-star ranking at Atlanta’s Marist School prior to his senior year.
“When I first saw I was a three star, I was excited,” he revealed. “… I hadn’t been really on the recruiting trail in camps or stuff like that. I didn’t really get caught up in stars, but I was like, ‘Oh, wow, I’m actually like on a website.’ It was kind of eye opening.”
Far beyond his physical skill set is his mental preparation as a student of the game. This was reflected in how he carried his notebook from team meetings even out to the practice field in the walk-through sessions.
“I kind of realized that’s where in the walk-through I started to learn more about the game plan than if we were in our meetings,” Hamilton noted. “I thought it would be useful to take a book out there and take notes without messing up in the walk-through: what I’m doing right in the walk through, what my coaches are adjusting, and stuff like that so I can have that to refer to and kind of set myself up for better play on Saturday and set my teammates up for better play.”
By the end of Hamilton's senior year at Marist and freshman campaign at Notre Dame, keeping a low profile or being inconspicuous was no longer possible, although not from a wont of trying.
“Football is a big part of my life,” Hamilton said. “Football, school, my family, all that. But once I’m done with football, once I feel like I’ve got the game plan down, I try to leave all that in a different space…just be a regular college kid.
“That kind of keeps me humble just knowing I’m never too big a deal. At the end of the day I’m just myself, and I don’t need to be caught up in accolades or he’s this or he’s that. I feel like once I start doing that is when I start falling off. I feel like I’ve just got to be the kid that I’ve always been, and that will make me my best.”
On road trips last year he was assigned the ultra-mature Gilman as his roommate, and his personality was a cherished influence.
“He taught me a lot of life lessons along with football stuff,” he said. “I just try to emulate the good traits that he has and apply them to myself.”
With veterans surrounding him last year, Hamilton was pigeonholed into more of a centerfielder’s role. This year, his role is expanding, and more is getting placed on his plate.
“Just playing with my eyes,” he replied to an inquiry on his greatest challenges at safety. “Knowing where my eyes are and knowing where they need to be, because the offense does a great job at taking your eyes this way when they want to go that way.
“That’s something I learned my freshman year. I learned it the hard way in practice and in games. I feel like I have improved on it but I still have a long way to go to get to the point where I want to be.”
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