Kyle Hamilton reveals why making move from Notre Dame to NFL will be 'full reset'

Kyle Hamilton is fully aware the transition to the NFL won’t be easy. The former Notre Dame safety was taken 14th overall by the Baltimore Ravens in the 2022 NFL Draft, and is ready to take his game to new heights.

At his introductory press conference, Hamilton was asked how playing at the highest level of college football prepared him for the challenge of the pros. His answer was a bit surprising, as he instead dove into how much work he has ahead of him if he hopes achieve his goals.

“I would say even at the highest level of college football, the talent and caliber of players is obviously not up to par with the NFL,” Kyle Hamilton said. “Every week you’re going up against freak athletes and the smartest guys you’ll ever play against. It just requires you to study that much more and work that much harder because we’re here for a reason too. The Ravens drafted us because they feel like we can compete and be better than these guys that we’re competing against. It building confidence playing at the highest (college) level, but we know coming in it’s going to be a full reset.”

Hamilton finished his career in South Bend with 138 tackles, eight interceptions and 16 passes defended. He suffered a knee injury this past season that caused him to miss the final six games of the season, including the Fiesta Bowl. He still managed to record 34 tackles, three interceptions and four passes defended across only seven games.

A former four-star plus recruit in the class of 2019, Hamilton was the No. 62 overall player in the nation per the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average. The Atlanta, Georgia, native also ranked as the No. 6 safety and No. 9 player in his home state after playing at Marist School.

Ravens coach John Harbaugh on why he selected Kyle Hamilton

On Saturday, Ravens coach John Harbaugh joined ABC’s NFL Draft broadcast and spoke with host Rece Davis about his thought process in drafting a safety sometimes called a “unicorn.”

“Starting with versatility, the thing that we love about him is he can lineup in different spots,” Harbaugh said. “He can play a deep middle, plays a deep half. You see it there, he’s covering ground sideline to sideline and making plays. But just as easily, you can put him up in the box, he’ll drop out underneath, he’ll make plays on the ball with this length, he’ll play the run.”

Hamilton’s 2021 season was cut short by a knee injury, but in just over six games last year, he was placed all over the field; he lined up in the box 87 times, in the slot 227 times and as a free safety 114 times. That’s definitely worthy of earning the “versatile” label. Irish head coach Marcus Freeman has even said he may have asked Hamilton to do too much by playing all over the gridiron.

“He’s a very smart player, high-character guy, great family, comes from an athletic background, he’s been around it his whole life. We’re thrilled to have him,” Harbaugh said.

On3’s Ashton Pollard contributed to this report.