Notre Dame S Kyle Hamilton Looking to Finish in Rose Bowl
Notre Dame will make its return to the College Football Playoff on Friday as the Irish will once again head to AT&T Stadium. The game didn't go as planned for Notre Dame in the 2018 Cotton Bowl, but life will somewhat come full circle for Irish defensive coordinator Clark Lea and All-American safety Kyle Hamilton.
Lea remembers telling Hamilton he would be in the College Football Playoff during the week leading up to the Cotton Bowl.
"I'm excited for him to have this opportunity," Lea said. "One thing that's lost is that he was a recruit in 2018 when we were playing in the playoffs and I can remember talking to him before the game about being to this point when he's playing here. And here we are."
Hamilton was in AT&T Stadium that night and saw how Notre Dame walked off the field, which he hopes is much different this weekend.
"I think it's cool how everything has come full circle," said Hamilton. "Obviously, that game didn't go as we wanted it to. We all have the chance to make up for that now and change the narrative.
"I think there's a lot of hype surrounding the game, just talks about Notre Dame not being this or Notre Dame being that. I think within the program, we all know who we are and know what we can do. And we all know what kind of game we can play if we're on the same page.
"It's cool to get that second chance, and definitely seeing that in person makes it mean more -- I mean, we'll be there on Friday, hopefully perform how we need to."
Notre Dame's defense will face a tall task as Alabama has scored over 50 points in four of its last five games and can hurt a defense in so many ways.
Lea knows his best players have to step up under the brightest of lights and will count on Hamilton to do just that.
"Kyle makes a difference," Lea explained. "He makes an impact by just being on the field. I think that his presence is felt. I think teams will plan around him, his length, his range. He fills up a lot of windows.
"He's proven over his career to have the ability to attack the ball and make plays. So that obviously is impactful just from the start. When he's playing at his best, he becomes a difference-maker for us.
"When you look at big games like this, you need your best players to come out and play their best. I know that's what we've been pushing him for and that's been the message from Coach (Brian) Kelly and that will be fun to watch."
Notre Dame played outside of itself in the ACC Championship Game against Clemson and paid the price. The Irish didn't fill gaps or fits against the Tigers, but that's been cleaned up over the last week.
Hamilton knows his team needs him to step up, but he's also mature enough to know he can't press his game, especially against an offense like Alabama.
"I think we all just have to play our game, not try to do too much," Hamilton said. "I understand it's a big stage, but we've all been here before. We've all played football in big games. I think if we just keep that in mind and keep in mind that we're a great team too, we'll be okay."
What the key for Hamilton not to press for big plays? It's simple. He has to do his job.
"You always have to be cognizant of how many people that can hurt you on the field, especially playing against Alabama this week," Hamilton explained. "I think it all goes back to our coaches talking about doing your job, and me personally, not trying to get out of myself, outside of my body and make plays that aren't mine.
"I think whether it's a play where I have to keep my eyes on the receiver and not looking in the backfield or keeping my eyes on the quarterback and just play off him. I think that if I stay within myself and do my job, I'll do perfectly fine with my eyes and my progression and stuff like that. I just need to be patient and do my job."
Notre Dame will also need to take advantage of making big plays when the opportunity presents itself. That starts with putting Alabama behind the chains and forcing 3rd-and-long situations.
"If we get them in 3rd-and-7, 3rd-and-8, 3rd-and-long situations, we can go deeper into our third-down playbook and get some pressure going or get some more stuff going in the coverage game.
"The offense is only limited to a certain amount of plays that they can run, too—the run's kind of out of the option. So I think we can focus more on being just pass defensive players and not focused on too many things at once.
"I think that is what maybe got us tripped up with the Clemson game with the quarterback run and stuff like that and third and medium situations. So I think we get them in third and long situations, we'll be much better."