Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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54 OCT. 2, 2021 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED K yl e H a m i l to n i s great. The Notre Dame junior safety might be the best de- fensive player in college football. But he's not go- ing to win the Heisman Trophy, and there's not much he can do about it. A ra l l y i n g c r y o f "Hamilton for Heisman" surfaced among Notre Dame fans after Ham- ilton started this season with three interceptions in three games. He joined rare company in achiev- ing that feat; it's only happened three times during head coach Brian Kelly's tenure, and it hasn't happened since the Irish went 12-0 in 2012. One of the two players who had three interceptions through three games for Notre Dame that year, linebacker Manti Te'o, finished second in Heisman voting behind Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel. In and of itself, that was in- credibly historic. Te'o's second-place finish marked just the third time in Heisman Trophy history (dating back to 1935) in which a linebacker finished in the top three. Te'o joined Pennsylvania's Chuck Bednarik (1948) and Illinois' Dick Butkus (1964) in that regard. So what about safeties? That, too, is rare air. Even more so. A safety has never finished in the top three of Heisman voting in the 86-year history of the award. The only time a defensive back of any kind won it was when Michigan's Charles Woodson took it home in 1997. The only two defensive backs who have even garnered the slightest bit of consideration in the last decade were LSU's Tyrann Mathieu in 2011 and Michigan's Jabrill Peppers in 2016, and the latter primarily played linebacker that season after beginning his career as a defensive back. Both players finished fifth in Heisman voting. Mathieu had 76 total tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, two intercep- tions, six forced fumbles, five fumble recoveries and two fumbles returned for touchdowns. He also had two punt return touchdowns. Peppers had 66 total tackles, 13.0 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks, one intercep- tion and one pass defended. He also had 27 rushing attempts for 167 yards and three touchdowns while adding another score on a punt return. The versatility is what set them apart from other standout defensive players. When highlights of Mathieu or Peppers returning punts for touchdowns flashed on television screens across the country, it took up valuable space in the minds of voters. They thought, "Oh, this guy is the best defensive player on his team and he's athletic enough to make plays on special teams? Man. He might be the best overall player in the country." Thus, Hamilton's question becomes this: How can he give Heisman voters the "wow" factor? What can he do that places him much higher in the minds of voters than other defensive backs? He doesn't return kicks. He doesn't return punts. So he needs to return interceptions. As flashy and dynamic as Mathieu and Peppers were, neither returned an interception for a touchdown during their top-five Heisman seasons. Even Woodson did not take any of his seven interceptions back to the house in 1997. What did Woodson have going for him, though? What Mathieu and Peppers did — he was a factor in other facets of the game. Woodson had a punt r e t u r n t o u c h d o w n . Check. He also caught 11 passes for 231 yards and two touchdowns. Big- time check. He ran the ball three times for 15 yards and another score. Those 14 offensive touches were as valuable as anything he did defensively in terms of getting him over the Heis- man hump. Hamilton could end up having better defensive statistics than Wood- son, Mathieu or Peppers. Through three games, he was on pace for 84 tackles, 8.0 tackles for loss, 12 in- terceptions and eight passes defended. The interception he had when he flew across the field from the farthest hash- mark to the sideline and somehow man- aged to snag the ball while getting two feet down at full speed was the best way he could have put himself on the map in primetime against Florida State in Week 1. But that play, as incredible as it was, is not going to drive a true Heisman Trophy campaign — even in a season in which Ole Miss' Matt Corral, of all quarterbacks, had the highest Heisman Trophy odds according to Vegas Insider through Week 3. Four quarterbacks — Alabama's Bryce Young, Ohio State's C.J. Stroud, Okla- homa's Spencer Rattler and Cincin- nati's Desmond Ridder — rounded out Vegas Insider's top five Heisman favor- ites. The next three players on the list were also quarterbacks. Vegas Insider listed odds for 23 play- ers, all of which were either quarter- backs or running backs. Even Notre Dame signal-caller Jack Coan made the list at No. 20. Let's end this the way we started it. Hamilton is great. But he's not going to win the Heisman Trophy. ✦ GOLDEN GAMUT TYLER HORKA Junior safety Kyle Hamilton has Notre Dame fans calling for him to win the Heisman Trophy, but history is not on his side. PHOTO BY BOB MYERS Hold Your Horses On Hamilton For Heisman Tyler Horka has been a writer for Blue & Gold Illustrated since July 2021. He can be reached at thorka@blueandgold.com