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The widely forecasted end result of Kyle Hamilton’s 2021 season is accessible with a four-word Google search.
Type “Kyle Hamilton NFL Draft” into the Internet’s foremost oracle, and there’s a near-unanimous conclusion. Not a surprising one for those who have watched him at Notre Dame since his 2019 debut, but one that’s now amplified because of Hamilton’s draft-eligible status.
The 6-4, 219-pound All-American safety pops up in the top 10 of early 2022 NFL Draft big boards, mock drafts and atop position rankings. His seemingly inevitable pro career could start as Notre Dame’s first top-15 defensive draft pick since Bryant Young in 1994.
In a year or two, Hamilton’s life will be different. He will likely make lots of money as a professional football player. He may share a locker room with players he admired growing up. He will have opportunities to hang around fancy people in extravagant places.
But for now, Hamilton is willingly near-sighted. Because just as limitless as his pro potential may be, his junior season at Notre Dame carries the same kind of potential. He’s an upperclassman on a defense in need of new leadership voices. He’s paired with a rising-star defensive coordinator known for his creativity and aggressiveness. He plays for a team that enters every season with national championship expectations.
“Notre Dame is his main focus,” said Hamilton’s father, Derrek.
It’s easy to forget Hamilton is still just 20 years old, a regular college student who’s okay with being out of the spotlight as much as possible while he’s at Notre Dame. He had an internship in his hometown of Atlanta this spring, a nod toward a desire to tap into Notre Dame’s non-football opportunities and live a regular college student life when he can.
Notre Dame and first-year defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman have on-field plans for him, too. Head coach Brian Kelly hinted before Notre Dame’s 2020 College Football Playoff loss to Alabama that Hamilton may gain even more duties the following season.
“As good of a football player as he is right now,” Kelly said, “I think you’ll see next year somebody that can possibly take his game to an even higher level in terms of blitzing, giving us some additional calls on our call sheet when we insert him into our defense.”
That was before Kelly knew who would replace defensive coordinator Clark Lea, who had accepted the job as Vanderbilt’s head coach. Freeman’s arrival after four successful years at Cincinnati widens the imagination even more.
Hamilton did not practice this spring while recovering from offseason ankle surgery, delaying Freeman’s on-field work with him until fall camp. Whatever Freeman’s plan for him is, he’s going to soak it in. He is, after all, the same player who brought a notebook on the field for walkthroughs as a freshman, furiously taking notes because he learned more out there than in meeting rooms on the whiteboard.
“He was always curious,” said former Notre Dame safety Alohi Gilman, Hamilton’s 2019 training camp roommate and a mentor to him. “Being curious is a good trait in football. Once you stop growing, that’s when things don’t pan out.”
And no, his hunger has not abided as his résumé has grown.
“I don’t think anything is below him,” Derrek said.