Two more days, just two more days until the wait is over and Notre Dame Football is back in our lives. As we look towards the future of the one-off ACC season, ESPN has ranked the Top 25 players inside the conference.
You might think that due to an overwhelming amount of analysts picking the Irish to finish second in conference play behind Clemson that this list would be littered with Notre Dame players. Well, unfortunately that isn’t the case. Just two Irish stars made the list, safety Kyle Hamilton and linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah.
Hamilton was ranked just one spot ahead of JOK, checking in at 10th on their list. Andrea Adelson and David M. Hale comprised the list, and were very complimentary of the sophomore star. “ACC QBs would be wise not to pick on Hamilton during Notre Dame’s brief foray into the league.” After taking away four passes in part-time work last year, Hamilton should become a national name after this season. Don’t be surprised to see him become an early entry player after his junior campaign.
Right after Hamilton was JOK, ranked as the 11th best player in the ACC. They called Owusu-Koramah a “dominant force at linebacker” which seems to be true. Adelson and Hale brought to attention JOK’s success at getting to the quarterback, “he got pressure 22.2% of the time — best on the team.” Expect defensive coordinator Clark Lea to unleash JOK in his final year on campus.
Although it was disappointing not to have more Irish stars on ESPN’s list, the team should still be competitive in every game it plays this year. This just add fuel to their fire, and Notre Dame has plenty to play for this season.