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10 Things that will define the 2021 Notre Dame football season

By Daniel Morrison

Nov 30, 2019; Stanford, CA, USA; A Notre Dame Fighting Irish helmet sits behind the bench during the first quarter against the Stanford Cardinal at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 30, 2019; Stanford, CA, USA; A Notre Dame Fighting Irish helmet sits behind the bench during the first quarter against the Stanford Cardinal at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports /
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Kyle Hamilton(Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

10 Things that will define the 2021 Notre Dame football season

8. Kyle Hamilton’s Ceiling

We all know how good Kyle Hamilton is, and we also know that this will, most likely, be his final season at Notre Dame, as he’s one of the top-10 NFL Draft prospects before the season begins. That’s why it will be more than interesting to figure out the Notre Dame defensive captain and All-American’s ceiling is, it will be vital to the team’s success this season.

The dirty truth is that Notre Dame is weak in the defensive backfield outside of Hamilton. However, when he’s playing to his capability, Hamilton can erase that. He takes up half of the field, can crash down in the running game, and can dominate tight ends and wide receivers alike in coverage.

Simply put, he’s like you designed a modern safety in a lab. 

Hamilton needs to reach and play at his highest level of potential this season, though. He can dominate opponents who try to run the RPO on Notre Dame and prevent teams who want to stretch the field alike. Without that play, though, there is a chance that Notre Dame’s defense could be victim to big chunk plays against them.

As an experienced leader on the defense, Hamilton will also be a key player under a new defensive coordinator and new defensive scheme. It will be his job to make sure the secondary know their assignments and are always in a position to succeed.

So, without Hamilton’s mental and physical ability, this season could go sideways for the Irish defense.

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