SIGNED: S Kyle Hamilton

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Atlanta Marist School safety Kyle Hamilton has submitted his National Letter of Intent to Notre Dame.

Rivals: 4.0 stars (No. 9 player in Georgia, and No. 8 safety and No. 97 overall prospect nationally)
BGI Grade: 5.0 (top-25 player)
Upside Grade: 5.0

Recorded a 4.79-second 40-yard dash, a 4.25-second pro shuttle and a 35.2-inch vertical jump at Nike Football's The Opening Regional Atlanta March 25.

Hamilton’s performance at the camp eventually landed him an invitation the Opening Finals, which took place in Dallas from June 29-July 3.

SENIOR SEASON: 27 carries for 272 yards and two touchdowns, 38 receptions for 804 yards and seven touchdowns, two kick return touchdowns, 72 tackles, eight passes broken up and four interceptions.

JUNIOR SEASON: 60 tackles, eight passes broken up and six interceptions.

• Region 7-AAAA Special Teams Player of the Year.
• Region 7-AAAA First -Team All-Region Kick Returner.
• Nike Football The Opening Finalist
• All-American Bowl participant.
• Finalist for Atlanta Touchdown Club Player of the Year.
• Finalist for the All-American Bowl’s Defensive Player of the Year.
• Atlanta Journal Constitution Preseason Super 11.

POWER FIVE OFFERS: Clemson, Auburn, Duke, Florida State, Georgia, Iowa State, Louisville Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Northwestern, Ohio State, Stanford, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest and Virginia.

Hamilton took his first visit to Notre Dame for the Wake Forest in November 2017. The Rivals100 prospect picked up his offer from the Irish Feb. 22.

While he didn’t make it public at the time, Hamilton fell in love with the Irish during that first visit and knew on some level he wanted to go to Notre Dame as soon as he returned to Georgia.

However, other schools didn't make it easy. Hamilton picked up a ton of offers in the early months of 2018, and took visits to Ohio State, Michigan, Georgia and Clemson.

When it came time for a decision, the finalists for Hamilton were Notre Dame, Georgia and Michigan. The Georgia talent announced his commitment to Notre Dame over the Bulldogs and Wolverines April 24.

Hamilton was primarily recruited to Notre Dame by safeties coach Terry Joseph. He took his official visit for the Michigan game Sept. 1.

• Born on March 16, 2001.
• Has also started games at wide receiver, quarterback and cornerback for Marist.
• His brother Tyler plays basketball at Penn.
• His father, Derrek, played basketball at Southern Miss and was selected No. 52 overall in the 1988 NBA Draft.

Notre Dame returns outstanding depth at the safety position, and current freshmen Derrik Allen and Houston Griffith will make a push in the spring. Even with that depth, Hamilton is talented enough to make an impact in his first year on special teams and at the safety position.

There is a lot to like about Hamilton’s game. He is close to 6-4 now and he filled out his frame nicely during his senior season, and he's reportedly up to 195 pounds. Hamilton also has very long limbs, which makes his length on the backend truly elite, and he has the kind of range Notre Dame hasn’t had at safety in a long time, other than Harrison Smith.

Hamilton brings a lot of athletic talent to the game. He has outstanding balance and his foot quickness is top-notch, especially for such a long athlete that in many ways is still growing into his body. That combination of traits allows him to make quick and fluid movements on the football field, and those traits improved even more as a senior. I noted that as a junior he was more rangy than fast, but as a senior he looked far more explosive as a runner.

Hamilton is an instinctive and heady football player. During his senior season he showed himself to be far more sound from a fundamental standpoint, and he did a better job reading routes instead of locking on the quarterback, which was a knock I had on him from his junior film. The ability to play with great range and skill, and also play with a high football IQ makes him an elite football prospect on the back end. He shows himself to be the ideal center fielder in the pass game, showing the range to drop into the middle and play a hash-to-hash game.

What I like about Hamilton is that even though he lacks the strength at this point to dominate as a run defender at the next level, he is a more than willing tackler. His ability to explode through ball carriers took a huge leap forward on his senior film, and his ability to now thrive in the run game and be elite in coverage is what bumped him up to a five-star on my board.

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