The Timeline: How Notre Dame landed Kyle Hamilton
Georgia wanted to keep him home. Michigan had him on campus two weeks ago and made a run at him. Over two dozen schools offered, but it is Notre Dame who won out for Atlanta (Ga.) Marist safety Kyle Hamilton.
The 6-foot-3, 183 pounder has announced his commitment to the Irish, so lets take a look at how this race played out.
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THE BEGINNING
“I was at school in study hall on February 20 and coach [Terry] Joseph sent me a message on Twitter to call him, so I called and he told me that Notre Dame was offering me,” said Hamilton. “It is an offer I had wanted for a while. It is a great school and I have always had a huge amount of respect for Notre Dame. They have great academics, they have a lot of tradition in football and it is just a school I have liked for a long time.
“When Everett Golson was there playing quarterback is around the time I really started to watch and follow Notre Dame. I looked up the school, found out about the academics and I just kept following them. As soon as I started getting recruited for football, I thought I might have a chance to go there, so once the offer came, I knew it might be the place for me. I knew Notre Dame was a school that could take me far in life, so even before the offer, I knew they were a school I really liked.”
THE TURN
“I was up there for the Wake Forest game during the season, but when I was up there over spring break (March 8), things went really well. The people I met with there are just different. It is not like a cookie cutter up there — the people are different and the culture is different. South Bend is a city of 100,000 people and there are 90,000 seats in the stadium, so a lot of people from all around the country are there in the fall.
“It was definitely during the visit that Notre Dame started to take the lead. I talked with coach Joseph, I talked with coach [Brian] Kelly, I talked to coach [Todd] Lyght and they made it seem like they already had a plan together for me. They see me as one who can come in and compete early for playing time. They made me feel needed in their program. Another thing that stood out on the visit was when the coaches told me how tight the Notre Dame family is — not only with players and coaches, but with teachers and other students too. That is something I would love to be part of.
“I left that visit with Notre Dame on top. It was an amazing experience and I left feeling good about Notre Dame.”
THE FINALE
“Georgia and Michigan were really good schools, but Notre Dame really separated itself from them and all the others. There really wasn’t a No. 2 school. The environment at Notre Dame seems like a healthy one and the right one for me.
“The last few weeks, no matter where I was, I was thinking about Notre Dame. I did go back and forth a little at first, but Notre Dame has just stayed in my mind. I knew it was the place for me.
“It really became clear to me that Notre Dame was the school on a random Sunday (April 1). I had just gotten off the phone with coach [Clark] Lea and I was just sitting there in my bed, thinking to myself about how Notre Dame is a great school, how it could provide me a lot of opportunities and I couldn’t think of one reason why I shouldn’t go there. I wanted to go there, so I made up my mind then, that, that is where I wanted to go.
“I still wanted to visit Michigan and Georgia to make sure I am crossing my T’s and dotting my I’s, but I knew. I called the Notre Dame coaches back a few days after I sat in my bed and made my decision. The opportunities they will provide me is really what made the biggest difference. Notre Dame offers those in football and after football. Their alumni network speaks volume and they are a global school. It is just the perfect fit for me. It feels great to be committed to Notre Dame and there is a real sense of pride that comes with this. I am excited.”
