2026 TE Sam Hamilton Enjoys First Notre Dame Game

Sam Hamilton‍ has been interested in Notre Dame for years, but even though he’s made multiple trips to campus in the past, Saturday was the 2026 Ohio tight end’s first game in South Bend.

“Everything went great,” Hamilton told Irish Sports Daily afterward. “We got there, got meet some people I haven't got to meet. I got to meet Caleb Davis, the new Director of Recruiting. He's a great guy. He's from Cincinnati. He was really excited for me to be there. We got to go watch the Player Walk.

“I got to see my old teammate, Karson Hobbs. I got talk to him for a second, but it was great all around. I got to talk to Coach (Mike) Denbrock a little. He said he was watching my game last night and said I did really well and that he's going to keep recruiting me and just see where all this goes. I loved it.”

The 6-foot-3, 225-pounder has offers from schools like West Virginia, Kentucky and others. Still, he was thrilled to hear the interest from Denbrock.

“It meant a lot to me because I'm a fan of Notre Dame, have been a fan for a long time,” he said. “I could really see myself going there and playing for Coach Denbrock and Coach (Marcus) Freeman. Just knowing that he's still recruiting me and that he will keep watching me throughout this year is great to know because it'll keep me working hard. It gives me encouragement and something to work for.”

The Moeller High School standout was blown away by the atmosphere inside the stadium.

“It was unbelievable,” he said. “It was more than I expected. Being my first Notre Dame game and being by the student section and just hearing all those students and fans, it's unreal.”

Hamilton will be busy hitting the road over the next couple months.

“I might be at Miami-Ohio against UC on Saturday depending on if we have a game this week,” he said. “But I will be going to Rutgers, maybe Coastal Carolina. I'll be at Ohio State and Michigan soon.”

He’d love to get back to South Bend, but will be keeping the focus on what he can control when it comes to the Irish.

“The next step generally is getting more tape out, playing my best football, worrying about that. I feel like if I just worry about playing my best brand of football and keep getting stronger and getting more film, I just think everything will take care of itself. That's my thought process right now.”

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