Notre Dame football: Return of Kyle Hamilton was important for Irish

Kyle Hamilton #14 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
Kyle Hamilton #14 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The return of safety Kyle Hamilton was an important thing for the Notre Dame football team.

Sophomore safety Kyle Hamilton went down in the Notre Dame football season opener against Duke in what looked like it could be a catastrophic injury. Luckily, it was merely an ankle sprain, without any further damage.

There were even rumors that Hamilton might be cleared to play against USF in week 2, which he ultimately did not play in. But on Saturday, Notre Dame’s best player returned to action for the Irish.

His return seemed to be overlooked for the most part, however. The injury turning out to be non-severe certainly lessened most fans’ concerns. The Irish have also been dealing with such a difficult breakout of COVID-19 and contact tracing that most fans have been more concerned with who has been able to practice and play due to protocols.

At any rate, it was a relief to see Hamilton take the field again for the Irish. A sprain usually doesn’t take as long as a break or tear to heal, but sprains can linger. They’re easy to reaggravate, and can keep you from feeling like yourself on cuts and stopping short for a long time.

As far as Hamilton played, he was a step behind his usual All-American play. That’s to be expected coming off an injury though. Hamilton did put excellent pressure on Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis when he blitzed from his safety position. Hamilton’s coverage skills also showed up, especially in the red zone where he locked down anyone who he was covering.

That’s where Kyle Hamilton is great for Notre Dame. He can fly up and make stops at the line of scrimmage while keeping the entire game in front of him. Nothing gets past him, he plays with elite vision, and he doesn’t miss tackles.

Yes, there was rust on Hamilton’s game. He let his head go down and missed a tackle, but he was far from the only one on Notre Dame’s defense to need to shake off the rust against Florida State on Saturday night.

As time goes on, and Hamilton gets healthier again, he’ll only play better and better. He finished the game with 8 tackles, to go along with his quarterback hurry.