If you missed this year’s Blue-Gold Game, then you missed Riley delivering a couple of hard hits to walk-on tight ends Andrew Yanoshak and Charlie Selna. 15 Ryan Barnes - Rock ’em, Sock ’em, Robots Via on Twitter The four-star recruit out of Phoenix may not play a significant role this season, but at this pace he should sooner rather than later in his Irish career. Regardless, the summer to this point has been enough time for Morrison to turn heads on the cornerback depth chart. Via on TwitterĪs for Morrison, it’s impossible to say whether he would be in stride with or even ahead of Mickey right now if he had enrolled early. As alluded to above, how soon he can turn that into a starting job will be something many Irish fans have their eyes on. has impressed mightily during his short time in South Bend, so much so that he’s presumably already a second-string cornerback. There’s been no shortage of praise for Mickey coming out of this spring and summer. To put it bluntly, the pair of true freshmen seem to have already sunken the battleships of - i.e., already surpassed on the depth chart - at least two of Notre Dame’s three sophomore cornerbacks. Mickey and Morrison are both members of the 2022 class that have made waves this offseason. But as the most experienced of the Irish cornerbacks, he’ll need to be a steadying presence in the defensive backfield at minimum. That’s high (if not biased) praise for him to live up to.
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Safeties coach Chris O’Leary has dubbed Bracy the best nickel in the country. After an offseason rebuilding his confidence, Bracy found a niche in nickel packages in 2021 and he figures to continue that role as a fifth-year senior this fall. Then he got benched during Notre Dame’s first matchup with Clemson in 2020. His breakout came in 2019 when he broke up two passes on the road against Georgia and was generally reliable throughout the year. 28 TaRiq Bracy - “Chutes and Ladders” Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Imagesīracy’s career at Notre Dame has been rocky, an up-and-down trajectory reminiscent of sliding down the chutes and toiling back up the ladders of the Irish cornerback depth chart. 3, but before the year ends… that could be a different story. Many Irish fans will probably be calling for Mickey to replace Lewis before the first quarter clock hits zero against Ohio State. (Keep in mind that TaRiq Bracy’s own mental funk led to Lewis becoming a true freshman starter on a Notre Dame team that made the College Football Playoff).īut reality is that Lewis’ job is far from secure given the way true freshman Jaden Mickey has been hyped up this offseason. All reports are that Lewis has had a very good offseason, and what he has said about his disaster of a bowl game indicates that he is mentally tough enough to put it behind him. Maybe there’s some credence to that opinion. So the perception from many fans is that Lewis’ continued presence in the starting lineup is a risk. Oklahoma State receiver Tay Martin recorded 10 receptions for 104 yards and three touchdowns in a game where Lewis was his primary defender. Let’s address the elephant in them room, shall we? Clarence Lewis’ Fiesta Bowl performance was atrocious. 6 Clarence Lewis - “Risk” Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
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He missed a good chunk of this spring after an offseason procedure to fix that issue, and his newly cleaned-up shoulder will get a trial by fire against Ohio State’s wide receiving corps in the season opener. It’s unclear how much Hart’s production last season was hamstrung by a lingering shoulder injury. That means expanding on his nine pass breakups and two interceptions from 2020.
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Now entering his senior year, He’ll will have to take another step forward, especially with the upgrade in top-tier wide receiving talent the Irish will face compared to last season’s schedule. The converted wide receiver took over as a starter last season and showed quite a bit of promise.
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In that sense, he has a monopoly on secure starting jobs.
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Hart feels like the only Notre Dame cornerback whose spot is unchallenged. 5 Cam Hart - “Monopoly” Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images So, to break it down further, here are the 2022 Irish corners as popular family board games. With Ohio State, Clemson and a transfer-infused USC now on the schedule, cornerbacks coach Mike Mickens has his work cut out for him to have his position group ready to go wire to wire. There are young players with plenty of hype and little proven production as well as proven veterans with some worrisome performances on their ledgers. Notre Dame’s cornerback position is an odd assortment this season.