Former Notre Dame Star Discusses Nearly Transferring

In the long history of Notre Dame football, few defenders have made the impact that Kyle Hamilton did during his three seasons in blue and gold.

The Atlanta product burst onto the scene as a freshman in 2019, intercepting a pass and returning it for a touchdown in his first game at Notre Dame Stadium that fall.

Before he left he'd twice be an All-American, and go on to be a first round draft pick of the Baltimore Ravens. However, if it wasn't for a former Navy turned Notre Dame football player, Hamilton may have never played a single game for the Fighting Irish.

Alohi Gilman Helped Keep Kyle Hamilton at Notre Dame

Earlier this fall, former Notre Dame safety Alohi Gilman was traded from the Los Angeles Chargers to the Baltimore Ravens. In doing so, the former Notre Dame captain was reunited with Kyle Hamilton, who was a freshman when Gilman was playing his senior season in 2019.

Speaking to the Baltimore Ravens website, Hamilton recently shared that had it not been for Gilman, that he very well may have transferred back home to Georgia.

"I was close [to transferring]," Hamilton said. "I was literally about to go to Georgia because I was like, 'I want to go home.'"

This came during Hamilton's first fall camp at Notre Dame, which was held at Culver Military Academy during this time. He was rooming with Gilman during this time, and Gilman helped talk Hamilton into staying.

Extremely passionate Notre Dame fans may recall how big the hype was around Kyle Hamilton after those first practices at Culver back in 2019, but it wasn't all sunshine and daisies for the star recruit.

That's when Notre Dame coaches assigned Gilman to help build up the youngsters confidence, something that clearly worked.

"After the first day, honestly, he was struggling," Gilman said. "He was coming up to me like, 'I don't know if I'm going to make it. I think I'm going to go to another team. I'm going to go somewhere else. I'm going to play basketball.' He was a hooper. I was like, 'Nah, bro, you're going to stay. You're going to be all right. Just stick it out. Trust me.' Over time, he built the confidence up to go play. But early on, he was talking to me and crying at night."

Hamilton on Early Struggles at Notre Dame

"It was like 85 degrees in my room. I was like, 'I can't do this.' But that's the beauty and the struggle of Notre Dame," Hamilton said. "I was just homesick. It's a new chapter of life. High school, I had it all figured out. And now you kind of get thrown into a new situation, a new state, meet new people. But he helped me out just in terms of mentally just locking back in and staying focused."

Kyle Hamilton's Star Career at Notre Dame

In terms of talent, there are few in the same ballpark as Kyle Hamilton in overall talent at Notre Dame. How impressive was he while there?

Consider that he played in just half the games of his junior season and still earned All-American status tells you pretty much all you need to know about Hamilton at Notre Dame.

Looking back now as he's become a premier defender in the NFL, Hamilton is the perfect type of player to promote if you're the Notre Dame recruiting office.