Notre Dame: 3 reasons Irish may have the best safeties nationally in ’20
By Matt Clark
Kyle Hamilton
Kyle Hamilton’s play as a true freshman this season exhibited the playmaking abilities that had experts raving about in the preseason. The four star recruit played significant time in the nickel role and lived up to all of the incredible hype surrounding him.
On the season, Hamilton registered 39 tackles, six pass deflections, four interceptions and a touchdown for the Irish. He far exceeded most expectations for a true freshman on a highly talented defense. As a result of his stellar play, he was named a Freshman All-American by The Athletic, Pro Football Focus, and 247Sports.
Hamilton was the No. 5 safety in his recruiting class according to 247Sports. The talented freshman was ranked as the 60th best prospect overall for the 2019 recruiting class. Adding a talent like that to the likes of Griffith and Pryor makes them the most highly rated group in recent history.
Hamilton possesses elite athleticism and a combination of instincts and length that make him a threat to make opposing quarterbacks pay for the smallest mistakes. The 6’4″, 210 pound safety possesses the ability to lock down receivers in the pass game. In addition, he has elite hands and ball skills that allow him to be a ball hawk in the secondary.
Hamilton is still young and is likely to fill out his extremely athletic frame more in the coming years. He is the type of safety to seeks out a big hit and enjoys tackling. If he fills out more between now and next season, he could be an absolutely imposing strong safety for the Irish over the next couple years.
Bonus: Alohi Gilman?
It should be noted that as of the writing of this article, standout free safety Alohi Gilman has not committed to the NFL Draft and has a year of eligibility remaining. While he is widely expected to announce that he his foregoing his final year of college eligibility to enter the draft, the thought of Gilman returning to this already uber-talented safety group is absolutely tantalizing.
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Should Gilman decide to return, Pryor could shift to strong safety, with Griffith moving to the nickel position. At that point, depending on if Hamilton puts on additional mass, the Irish could consider moving him to the Rover position. Or the Irish could put Hamilton at strong safety, Pryor in the nickel role and shift Griffith back to the corner role. With a group with this much talent and ability, the opportunities are endless. Whether Gilman decides to stay or ultimately enters the draft, Notre Dame has to feel good about the state of its safety group going into next year.