Quick-hitters: Brian Kelly on Kyle Hamilton, Navy prep and injury updates
Brian Kelly expects junior safety Kyle Hamilton to play again this year.
Hamilton is progressing in well in his recovery from his knee injury suffered Oct. 23 vs. USC, Kelly said, although he will not play Saturday vs. Navy (3:30 p.m. ET, NBC). But that’s only part of the equation.
Hamilton is draft-eligible and is viewed as a potential top-five pick. His future is part of the discussion too. It would be irresponsible not to consider the potential draft and financial ramifications when weighing a decision to return. And the decision will be Hamilton’s, Kelly said.
“Those aren’t easy decisions,” Kelly said Monday. “He will lean on his family. We have an outside source we bring in that evaluates all our players. He has a chance to listen to all that information. Kyle will make the right decision what’s right for him. We’re assuming everything goes right with his knee. If that’s the case, he will have all the information in front of him. We’ll support him 100 percent, whatever it is.”
On the recovery front, Hamilton will receive a second treatment on his knee Monday.
“He has made really good progress,” Kelly said. “We expect that progress to continue through this week. He will be evaluated next week as to whether he is in position to return for the Virginia game.”
Elsewhere with injuries, Kelly said he’s “optimistic” receiver Braden Lenzy (concussion) can play this weekend after leaving in the first quarter of last week’s 44-34 win over North Carolina.
“Today we weight train, and that’s kind of the next step after you’re cleared from the cognitive testing,” Kelly said. “Then you go into a cardiovascular testing. He’s cleared to do that today. If he comes out of the cardiovascular testing today, he will practice tomorrow. We’re moving in the right direction with him. He has voiced his absolute want and desire to be on the field.”
Guard Zeke Correll (concussion) has been cleared to return. Defensive end Isaiah Foskey tweaked his shoulder vs. North Carolina but is not expected to miss any time.
Here are some other topics Kelly addressed in his typical 30-minute Monday media session.
On playing Navy
“It’s a hard game, a difficult game. These games are never easy because you’re playing a style of football that goes contrary to what you’ve been teaching the last four months. It’s a challenge for the coaches and players to prepare themselves. You’re preparing against great competitors. They know their strengths and weaknesses and the play to that.
"They’re playing really well lately, not giving up points and keeping the ball in front, playing a style of defense that compliments their offense. They’re fifth in the country in time of possession, so we’re back to limiting your possessions, which requires you to be efficient on offense.”
On Navy’s defense
“They return nine starters. [Defensive tackle J’arius] Warren is solid and explosive on the defensive line. Diego Fagot is probably a top-five linebacker we’ve played against. He’s explosive, very good athlete, their leading tackler. Really good athlete. He could play for anybody in the Power Five.
On freshman linebacker Prince Kollie
“Each freshman, each young player has a journey that is unique to themselves. His one has taken some time. It does not mean in any way we’re down on him or he hasn’t lived up to expectations, all those crazy narratives about, ‘Why isn’t he starting?’ He has done well, but it has been smaller steps because there has been a transition for him.
“He has been on a journey that has been really positive, but throwing him out there on triple option would probably not be fair.”
On kicker Jonathan Doerer
“He had a pretty significant injury he’s working back from. He had a PRP injection in the bye week and kicked in the Virginia Tech game with a pretty significant injury. Making that kick he made, for us on the sideline, even more astounding. He’s coming back from a significant injury and trying to build up the strength in his leg. We’re seeing a little of that in some of the kickoffs.”
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