It may be awhile before anyone gets to see Notre Dame football players on the field again, but when that does happen, there are plenty of reasons to be excited about the 2020 Fighting Irish.

Right at the top of the list is sophomore safety Kyle Hamilton. He had a terrific debut season as a true freshman. He finished with 11 total Havoc plays (six pass breakups, four interceptions, and one tackle for loss). That doubled the amount Jalen Elliott and Alohi Gilman produced together in 2019.

Eliott (13) and Gilman (12) made more plays in 2018, but accomplished that while playing over twice as many plays as Hamilton did in ‘19. Harrison Smith caused more Havoc in 2010 (15) and 2011 (14), but he was a full-time starter.

Hamilton hasn’t even reached that point and has already proved himself as a playmaker.

According to PFF, opposing passers finished with a pass efficiency grade of 1.6 when targeting Hamilton. I didn’t forget to include a decimal point or insert another number. That 1.6 is correct.

Hamilton’s gifts were on full display and how he used them to make plays is what I’m highlighting today.

Here he is against Louisville to start the season opening up while reading the quarterback. This was right after missing a tackle a couple of plays earlier and he comes back with a great job of finishing through to make this play. He sees it and then can close in a hurry.

via GIPHY

This is against Virginia Tech where he is lined up deep (top of the screen), but he is playing a Robber role jumping on underneath routes. Again, it’s the way he closes on the ball to not even allow this to be a catch.

via GIPHY

He diagnoses things quickly in coverage. His instincts are special for a young player. He reads the eyes of the Boston College quarterback and is on this for an interception pretty much as soon as the receiver is making his break.

via GIPHY

Hamilton has little hesitation against this tunnel screen against Virginia, which allows him to beat the block of the offensive lineman before he can even engage. He sees that tight end block the corner and knows what’s coming.

via GIPHY

The instincts and football intelligence are already well above average for a young player, but then that is combined with his length and athleticism and it puts him into a different category.

He gets beat off the line by the Boston College tight end, but he makes up for it with speed and has the length that allows him to break up this pass.

via GIPHY

Navy quarterback Malcolm Perry forced more missed tackles than anyone in the country and this is a first down on the keep 9/10. The 1/10 is when someone like Hamilton is running him down in space. That’s a big time play and it was Hamilton’s only tackle for loss last fall.

via GIPHY

That’s the scary part. Hamilton can still get much better. He left plays on the field in 2019 and missed tackles. There were times where Clark Lea blitzed him and he had chances to make plays in the backfield, but did not finish. His Havoc numbers could have been even more prolific for someone who wasn’t a starter.

I expect to see him utilized more as a blitzer in 2020. I think we could see him be moved around as a chess piece on 3rd downs as well with this play against Virginia being a perfect example of him lining up as a potential A gap rusher and then dropping off into coverage.

With no threat coming from his side, he can sit and read the quarterback. That is what led to this great diving interception.

via GIPHY

It’s not an exaggeration to say he can be the most productive playmaker Notre Dame has had on defense in the last ten years. That’s how high his ceiling is. He could get to those heights in 2020 with more playing time and improvements with his game. And if that happens, he can be an All-American candidate this fall.