Marcus Freeman joins NFL Network to discuss Notre Dame pro day, Kyle Hamilton, Kyren Williams
The stars were out at Notre Dame pro day on Friday afternoon, as 13 NFL hopefuls took a few hours in front of more than 20 NFL teams to show off their skills.
As the day’s events were transpiring behind them, Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman joined Steve Smith Sr. of the NFL Network to discuss a few of the Irish players available for this year’s NFL Draft.
“I think, No. 1, we’re losing leadership,” Freeman said of the draft class. “Four of the guys that are participating in pro day were captains last year, so we’re going to lose out on that leadership, which is so hard to replace.”
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The captions to which Freeman is referring include safety Kyle Hamilton, running back Kyren Williams and defensive linemen Kurt Hinish and Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa. He spoke in detail about both Hamilton — who is an expected top-10 NFL Draft selection — and Williams.
“You talk about football production, Kyle Hamilton is as good as I’ve ever been around,” Freeman said. “And I’ve been around some really, really good football players. And (it’s not) only his athleticism, his physicality, his intelligence, his ability to put himself in a position to be successful.”
Hamilton, who missed nearly half of the 2021 season, had 34 tackles, four pass break ups and three interceptions last year.
“I think sometimes, as the defensive coordinator, I overutilized him and asked him to do too much because you felt he could do anything,” Freeman added. “What really is he going to get good at? I’m excited to see him get into an organization that’s going to say ‘Hey, this is who you are, Kyle Hamilton. Let’s get better at it.’
“He is an unbelievable talent and an unbelievable person.”
Predictions for Hamilton’s landing spot are all over the place as uncertainly plagues the first round, but the vast majority of experts have the defensive back coming off the board somewhere in the first 10 picks. He has been forecasted to go as high as No. 2 to the Detroit Lions, who are in desperate need of a jolt to their secondary.
Freeman on Williams: ‘We never caught him in practice’
Freeman also took a moment to address the Irish’s fiery 2021 running back.
“Kyren, man, is he a spark plug,” Freeman said. “Going against him last year and in fall camp, he’s just an energy provider. He comes on the field and instantly brings energy to the entire football program, coaches and players included.
“I don’t know what he ran today in the 40, but I know we never caught him in practice,” Freeman said. “I’ve seen many teams try to catch him in a game, and I see him run by them. He’ll be a talent for any NFL team that picks him up.”
Williams ran a 4.54 40-yard dash on Friday, an improvement from a 4.65 at the NFL Combine in early March. He likely helped his draft stock with the performance. Williams is an expected Day 3 draft pick, although he could sneak into the end of the second day.
The dual-threat rusher finished last season with 1,002 yards on the ground on 204 carries (4.9 yards per carry) and 14 rushing touchdowns plus 42 catches for 359 yards and another three scores.
