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Notre Dame Football: Three reasons Irish can be elite in 2020

By Ben Belden

ORLANDO, FL - DECEMBER 28: Ian Book #12 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish passes the ball during the Camping World Bowl against the Iowa State Cyclones at Camping World Stadium on December 28, 2019 in Orlando, Florida. Notre Dame defeated Iowa State 33-9. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
ORLANDO, FL - DECEMBER 28: Ian Book #12 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish passes the ball during the Camping World Bowl against the Iowa State Cyclones at Camping World Stadium on December 28, 2019 in Orlando, Florida. Notre Dame defeated Iowa State 33-9. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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1. A budding superstar in the secondary

SOUTH BEND, IN – NOVEMBER 23: Kyle Hamilton #14 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish runs with the ball after an interception during a game against the Boston College Eagles at Notre Dame Stadium on November 23, 2019 in South Bend, Indiana. Notre Dame defeated Boston College 40-7. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
SOUTH BEND, IN – NOVEMBER 23: Kyle Hamilton #14 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish runs with the ball after an interception during a game against the Boston College Eagles at Notre Dame Stadium on November 23, 2019 in South Bend, Indiana. Notre Dame defeated Boston College 40-7. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

An effective pass rush and an effective secondary go hand in hand, and keeping with the theme of having lost talented players, the Irish secondary is in the same boat.

Gone are the likes of Alohi Gilman and Jalen Elliott from the back end of the Irish secondary.

But once again, the Irish have plug-and-play players that can step in to fill that void for the Irish defense.

As the season went on, then-freshman Kyle Hamilton proved his star potential. Hamilton has the length, tackling ability, and the ball skills to be the most complete safety that Notre Dame has seen in quite some time.

On the other side of the field, Houston Griffith has more than enough experience to draw upon, while graduate transfer Isaiah Pryor will challenge for playing time, as well.

If Hamilton is able to build upon his freshman campaign, he will become a household name, even outside of Notre Dame circles.

Next. What Trevor Speights adds to the Irish backfield. dark

It is always reasonable in college athletics that teams will need players to continually step into bigger roles and continue developing for a team to take the next step. In this version of the Notre Dame football team, however, the Irish have an unprecedented amount of experience and talent stepping in to the roles in question. If things pan out for these players, Notre Dame could have a fun season.

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