Brian Kelly provides update on Kyle Hamilton ahead of UVA game

It looks like Notre Dame will be without their top defensive player against the nation’s best total offense on Saturday.

The Irish head to Charlottesville this weekend for a primetime game against Virginia, and safety Kyle Hamilton has not been cleared to play, according to Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly.

“Kyle Hamilton is not ready to play,” Kelly said Thursday. “Kyle is not cleared medically to play. Once he’s cleared medically to play, he has every intention of playing. He just hasn’t been cleared yet.”

Hamilton suffered a knee injury against USC on Oct. 23. On Monday, Kelly said doctors would spend the week looking at Hamilton’s MRI.

While there has been speculation that Hamilton has played his last game in an Irish uniform before entering the 2022 NFL Draft, Kelly made it seem as though the likely first-round draft pick is doing everything in his power to return to the field in blue and gold at least one more time.

“This isn’t a young man that doesn’t want to play,” Kelly added.

If Hamilton is ready to play next weekend, the Atlanta native’s last game at Notre Dame Stadium will be against Georgia Tech.

UVA offense presents great challenge for Irish secondary

The Irish struggled mightily without Hamilton against UNC’s high-powered offense on Oct. 30, giving up more than 30 points for just the second time this season. Tar Heels quarterback Sam Howell shredded Notre Dame with 34`1 passing yards, 91 rushing yards and two total touchdowns.

Virginia presents a similar problem to UNC. UVA is averaging 545.2 yards per game, which leads the nation. They have scored at least 48 points in three consecutive games.

It remains unclear if UVA quarterback Brennan Armstrong will play after suffering a rib injury against BYU on Oct. 30. Obviously, losing Armstrong would be a huge blow to the Cavalier offense. True freshman Jay Woolfolk would likely get the start in the event Armstrong does not play.

Regardless of who is under center, the Irish defense will look to dominate in the trenches against a UVA offensive line that has allowed 26 sacks this season, which is 104th in the nation.

Lineman Isaiah Foskey leads the country in sack yardage by 30 yards with 97. He has nine sacks on the season, which is tied for fourth nationally.

The game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC, and Notre Dame is a 5.5-point favorite as of Thursday afternoon.