Three Notre Dame Players Named To College Football Top 50 For 2021

Pro Football Focus has released its Top 50 players in college football list and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish had three players make that list.

Only Alabama (4) and Ohio State (4) had more players than Notre Dame's three. The Irish were tied with Oklahoma, Georgia and LSU at three apiece. Cincinnati (2) and North Carolina (2) were the only Notre Dame 2021 opponents to place players on the Top 50 list.

All-American safety Kyle Hamilton checked in as the No. 9 player in the land.

"Hamilton stands at 6-foot-4, 221 pounds, and he is one of the most explosive safeties in the game. His 42-inch vertical may have helped land him on Bruce Feldman’s 2020 Freaks List, but he also pairs his physical skill set with great eyes in coverage, making him a certified playmaker.

"Hamilton has compiled 16 combined pass breakups and interceptions and 15 passing stops as a true freshman and sophomore. Better yet, he was responsible for only three explosive pass plays of 15-plus yards over that span. The Notre Dame safety has generated the third-most WAA among players at his position over the last two years." - PFF

Transfer guard Cain Madden was Notre Dame's next highest player, checking in as the No. 27 player in the country.

"The Irish, who saw four of their five starting offensive linemen leave for the NFL, landed one of the best players in the transfer portal in Cain Madden. He started at right guard for Marshall over the past three years, providing great pass protection in each campaign. His grades in that facet came out to 84.6, 79.0 and 82.0. And he was performing at unprecedented levels as a run-blocker in 2020, posting a 93.0 grade in that facet." - PFF

Notre Dame lineman Jarrett Patterson rounded out the list, checking in as the No. 48 player in the country. He is the second offensive lineman to make the list.

"Notre Dame saw four of its five starters from last year’s unit depart for the NFL. The good news is that the team's lone returner, Jarrett Patterson, is one of the best offensive linemen in college football.

"Patterson made his debut as the starting center in 2019 and performed exceptionally well. He ranked 11th among Power Five centers in PFF grade and didn’t allow multiple pressures in any of his 13 starts. He was even better in 2020, ranking sixth among Power Five centers in PFF grade. Patterson’s improvement primarily came in the run game, where he ranked eighth in positively graded block rate among. He’s also one of two returning Power Five interior offensive linemen to log at least 650 pass-block snaps without surrendering a sack in their college career.

"Regardless of where Patterson plays in 2021, he’s going to anchor the Irish’s line" - PFF

Having two Top 50 players in the country along the offensive line should give Notre Dame fans some excitement about the OL being a strong unit this season.

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