Notre Dame football: Irish in good hands with D.J. Brown filling in for Kyle Hamilton

The Notre Dame football team will be without Kyle Hamilton against North Carolina, which means D.J. Brown will step in and play a huge role.

During their win against the USC Trojans on Saturday night, there was a lot to like about the effort. The Notre Dame football team finally ran the ball with some authority, Jack Coan did what he needed to do, and the defense shut down Kedon Slovis and the USC passing attack.

However, it was not all bright news for the Irish in that rivalry game, as they saw star safety Kyle Hamilton go down in the first half with a knee injury. Listed as questionable the rest of that game, Hamilton has already been ruled out of the Irish’s matchup against UNC, a devastating blow to the defense, and secondary in particular.

Hamilton is not just the best player on this Notre Dame football team but is one of the best players in the country, and many feel will be a top-5 pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. In his place, the Irish will roll with D.J. Brown, who stepped in admirably in Hamilton’s place against USC, tying for the team lead in tackles with seven.

Notre Dame football in good hands with Brown

This spring, Brown was battling it out with Houston Griffith for the starting job alongside Hamilton, so the coaching staff is more than comfortable with him being out there. In fact, Brown stepped in for Hamilton against UNC last season, as Hamilton was ejected early for targeting, and the safety stepped in and did an admirable job against Sam Howell and company.

Brown may not be Hamilton, but he is no slouch either and should be more than capable of helping stop this UNC passing attack.

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Overall, Brown should do fine, but the depth behind both Griffith and he is very thin going into this crucial matchup. North Carolina has the passing attack that can hurt teams downfield, and if something were to happen to either Brown or Griffith, this Notre Dame football team will be in big trouble on the defensive side of the ball.