SOUTH BEND, Ind. — University of Notre Dame safety Kyle Hamilton and tight end Michael Mayer were both named All-Americans by the American Football Coaches Association on Wednesday. Hamilton earned first team honors while Mayer was named to the second team. This is the fourth All-American honor for Hamilton and Mayer’s third accolade this postseason.
Hamilton led the Irish with three interceptions and had 35 tackles and four pass breakups in seven games this season. Earlier in the season, he was named a First Team Midseason All-America selection by the Associated Press, Sporting News, CBS Sports, ESPN.com, The Athletic and Athlon Sports.
Hamilton opened the season with two interceptions in Notre Dame’s road-overtime win over Florida State. He was the first Irish player to have two interceptions in a game since Alohi Gilman in 2018 against Syracuse. For his efforts against the Seminoles, he earned LOTT Impact Player of the Week honors.
In the Irish’s home win over Purdue, Hamilton tied a career high with 10 tackles, including one to halt a Purdue fourth down conversion attempt in the first half. Later in the fourth quarter, Hamilton recorded his third interception of the season in the red zone to thwart a Purdue comeback attempt. Following his performance against the Boilermakers, he garnered player of the week awards from Walter Camp, Athlon, Pro Football Focus and was named the Bednarik Award Player of the Week.
Mayer finished the season-opener at Florida State with career-best marks in receptions (nine) and yards (120). His 120 yards receiving was the most by an Irish tight end since Sept. 11, 2010 when Kyle Rudolph hauled in 164 yards against Michigan. It was the first 100-yard game of his career and it ranked fifth all-time in Notre Dame history for most receiving yards in a single game by a tight end. The very next week against Toledo, he tallied his first career multi-touchdown game and scored the game-winning touchdown with 1:09 left in the game.
In the regular season finale, Mayer tied his career-best mark and the Notre Dame single-game record with nine receptions for 105 yards. His final reception of the night set the single season Notre Dame reception record, surpassing Tyler Eifert’s previous record of 63 from 2011. It was Mayer’s second-career 100-yard receiving game and the eighth game he has had seven or more catches.
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