Notre Dame football: Why Kyle Hamilton is the perfect modern-day safety
The Notre Dame football program has an elite talent at safety, and here is why Kyle Hamilton is the perfect modern-day player at his position.
Kyle Hamilton is no secret for this Notre Dame football program when it comes to the defensive side of the ball. He’s not someone anyone overlooks, whether they’re a fan, pundit, or opposing team. So, how is it that he’s become so successful? After all, if everyone knows that they have to prepare for Hamilton, how can he still ruin an offense’s day?
Actually, it’s pretty simple. He’s the perfect modern safety.
For Hamilton, it starts with his tremendous natural size. At 6ft 4in and 220lbs, Hamilton brings great natural size to the position, but this length is rarely found in a safety, though. For instance, Ed Reed, arguably the best safety of all time, was only 5ft 11in, and the same goes for a great Notre Dame player like Tom Zbikowski.
Instead, Hamilton brings the length of a tall wide receiver, which makes it that much easier to both take long strides to cover the field and get up to defend against jump balls.
Hamilton is also a lot faster and more athletic than most players of his size tend to be. This is obviously important as a safety, being a final layer of defense. This means he can’t allow any of those quick wide receivers to get past you, oftentimes in cover 1 defense, where he has to be able to play from sideline to sideline.
That’s before you consider his responsibilities in the running game. Clearly, every safety needs this combination of size and speed, but the truth is that many have to settle for one or the other.
Notre Dame football star perfect modern-day safety
This unique combination of size and speed does a couple of important things for Hamilton in the modern game. For one, it erases the tight end. Teams like to use a tight end because they’re almost impossible to match up with. That’s because they’re too big for defensive backs to cover but too fast for linebackers to keep up with. Hamilton, though, has the size and speed to shut them down.
The other great thing about Kyle Hamilton’s game is that he blends that special talent with a willingness to play downhill and trust his instincts. This makes him great at defending the RPO. Hamilton can crash down into the box, forcing a quarterback to pull the ball and throw, but his athleticism and speed allow him to readjust and get into passing lanes or even take on the quarterback.
There’s a reason why you’re going to see Hamilton on award watchlists, mock drafts, and even a freaks list. He is just that good. He’s that unique, and this will be his last year at Notre Dame. So, enjoy watching the perfect modern safety in an Irish uniform while you still can, and be grateful for everything he does for this defense in the meantime.