Notre Dame Safety Target Kyle Hamilton 'Gets It'
Atlanta Marist School had a huge crop of seniors to help lead them to a state championship appearance in 2017, but that job will fall on a new set of shoulders this season.
Notre Dame safety target Kyle Hamilton has always led by example, but Marist head coach Alan Chadwick said he hopes to see him be more verbal as a senior.
“We need him to be, particularly for next year,” Chadwich explained. “We’ve got a much younger team coming up this year, but we had 33 seniors last year. Kyle was a leader with the way he played. We had other people to step up and direct the team, but not we need him to step up and help do that this year.’
Chadwick added that with 33 seniors headed out of the program, it will become Hamilton and his classmates in the class of 2019 responsibility to keep the rest of the team on the right track.
“He needs to help lead others, push others and keep them straight and keep them in line,” Chadwick said. “He needs to up his game in that department, no question.”
While Chadwick would like to see Hamilton grow in that department, the Marist head coach said he’s seen everything he needs to see from the three-star on the field.
“He’s an athlete and he just gets it,” Chadwick said. “The basketball background helps him so much with his vision. See the court, see the field. He got that mostly from basketball.”
Hamilton grew up playing basketball and has an older brother currently playing at Penn. When he started playing football, just about every position was on the table.
Hamilton played quarterback, defensive back and receiver before settling into his role as a safety and receiver.
“We always thought basketball was going to be his primary sport until his junior year,” Chadwick told Blue & Gold Illustrated. “This year he stayed healthy the whole time and we used him at receiver offensively. He’s the kind of kid who can catch the ball and get a feel for where people are and make the right moves and get the extra yards.”
No matter the position, Chadwick said it’s vitally important to get Hamilton on the field whenever possible.
“He’s the kind of kid you want to get involved as much as you can,” Chadwick said. “It’s very rare that you get that complete of an athlete with that combination of length, hands, skills and vision. We just want to try to get the ball to him. It’s a no-brainer.”
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