Notre Dame Cornerback Room Is Loaded For 2026

0:00Bringing your business dreams to life takes heart and about a thousand decisions a day That's why Atlantic Union Bank's knowledgeable bankers are here for you with the right guidance I'm customized solutions to help you reach your business goals So whether you're planning your next move upgrading your space or scaling to meet demand We make sure your business is ready for what's ahead because we are big enough to support you It's small enough to know you Atlantic Union Bank anyway you bank Few things are as uplifting as the greatest moments in sports and nothing brings us together quite like team USA at the Olympic winter games From NBC Universal's iconic storytelling to the innovative technology across Exfinity and Peacock Comcast brings the Olympic Games home to America sharing every moment with millions when team USA steps onto the world stage We're not just watching. We're cheering together. This winter. We're all on the same team Comcast proud partner of team USA

1:00Our HBCUs have a legacy that's straight up golden And McDonald's is proud to help keep it that way Since 2021 the golden arches has connected with the third good Marshall College Fund to provide one million dollars in scholarships for students headed to our HBCUs That kind of cash helps keep bright minds on the yard dreams within reach and the future golden Learn more about McDonald's black and positively golden scholarships at mcdblackscholars.com I'm at part three of today's show here on the Irish Breakdown podcast party by our friends over at Fandall We're continuing our discussion with the Notre Dame cornerback room and part two we talked about What the expectations are what some of the questions are it was more big picture now

2:01We're going to take a dive into the room. We're going to take a look at what makes up this exceptional roster. It's extremely talented But there are still some questions on what it's going to look like in 26 both schematically and from a person else standpoint So but what we do know for sure is all of the pieces are there All of the ingredients are there for this to be an absolutely elite unit in 2026 There's no question about that Trevor. I mean this is a group that you look at and say I don't want to hear new coach. I don't want to hear scheme. I don't want to hear there's literally no excuse that I'm going to accept That's valid to explain why this Secondary is a whole and this cornerback room is not one of the nation's best groups Like none There's not it. Oh, well, so-and-so got injured. Okay Two years ago we saw Benjamin Morrison a preseason all-american getting injured and guess what happened The next stud gets walked in there and there's still a great secondary

3:03Right You we've seen it Like that's the way this roster is built. You've got Dallas gold. I you know what? Let's bring it up. Let's just bring it up now, Trevor But let's just this is this is the cornerback room right now that that that we're going to watch here in South Bend There's not a dude on this field that can't help another day win football games this season not a one including the freshmen You've got Dallas gold who's the top 100 recruit coming out of high school who played last year Jayden san your Sanders played a bunch of football for Michigan last year You thought enough of him that you went after him when he got into the portal hard despite having everybody else on this roster Aiden pounces a top 100 recruit coming in Leonard Moore is the best cornerback in coach football Cari Adams is a five-star player coming out of high school Mark Zachary played a lot of good football for you last year Chasmith is a top 100 caliber player that could help you as a freshman I would argue he's more physically advanced as a freshman than what Leonard than what Mark Zachary was last year And he's as a as a player he's certainly ahead of where Talent wise and in and a lot of those areas then what

4:06Clarence Lewis was in 2020 when he started for you on a team that made it to the cost of all playoffs and You know played for the ACC championship And then of course Christian Grace played a ton of football for you DJ McKinney's played a ton of football very good football player So I don't want to hear oh well. We had this one injury all right cool. So maybe without Leonard Moore You're not the number one cornerback room in the country your number five You know what I mean like so the town is there for this to be an elite group and there there's no There's no explanation no justification outside of half this roster going down to season ending injuries that you shouldn't be a top five cornerback room next year Not a one That's the kind of talent you enhance and look at the size There's one dude that's less than six feet tall Christian Gray is the second shortest cornerback on his roster I mean Maybe Dallas golden is those two are and I look I'm six feet tall and I've stood next to Dallas golden at a chance to meet him and his dad last year at Irish invasion

5:09I'm six feet tall I he was slightly taller nine so if he's six feet tall he's six foot in a quarter six foot in a half you know what I mean That's a tall group long group athletic group. There's a lot of speed in there There's a lot of proven production in there. There's a lot of snaps in there Other than the freshmen Every single player on this roster has played meaning at hundreds of meaningful snaps of football hundreds And you know, obviously we know Leonard Moore and and what he's done for Notre Dame DJ McKinney has played over a thousand snaps of football in his career So he's played a lot of football Christian Gray has played a lot of football I'm actually going to pull this up right now Trevor and give you guys an example of Of the amount of football that these guys have played so Leonard Moore in his career two-year starter Notre Dame He's played over 1300 career snaps Christian Gray is a two-year starter Notre Dame. He's played it over 1600 Career snaps DJ McKinney who was a starter in 2023 at Oklahoma State and then a starter for two years at Colorado

6:17He is he has played. I'm pulling it up right now. He has played over 2000 career snaps. He is at Let's see here two thousand and 93 career snaps. He's played over 1400 the last two years at Colorado alone Jaden Sanders this past year is a true freshman at Michigan but played Three over 300 career snaps Dallas Golden last year Notre Dame played 311 snaps Mark Zachary last year played over 307 snaps think about that Jaden Sanders at 303 snaps is the least experienced returning quarterback on this roster And every one of them not just played 300 snaps. They all played Meaningful snaps. I think Dallas Gold's the only guy on this list that hasn't started again And I actually think no actually they all started. Yeah, yes, he did and so He started in a nickel every single returner on this roster including Jaden Sanders has started college football games So it's not like they got hundreds of snaps coming off the bench and blowouts

7:19They've started football games You've got nine players on your roster six of them have started football games in their careers So again, no no excuse for this not to be a loaded room But what get you excited about the future of this room trip is Christian Gray and DJ McKinney are gone after this year the odds are Leonard Moore is going to be gone after this year We as Notre Dame fans should not want Leonard Moore back on this football team in 2027 Because of Leonard Moore's back on his football team in 2027 that means something bad happened That means he had a significant injury and his draft stock has really taken a plummet We want him gone because we want it being a top five pick next year Because if he's a if he's coming back next year that that's not a good side He's not going to come back to help Notre Dame win a title Nor should he just like Jeremiah Love should You're the best corner back in the draft next year and I don't think it's going to be close You want him gone that after that you've got six other guys that have that are coming back Three of which have started football games and three of which are part of the best freshman class in the country

8:20And you've already got commitments from another top 50 recruit and saber has on ace and ace allston So this room is loaded for years to come And and if you're hair and Henry like why would a guy turn down being a decordinator To come to Notre Dame to be a position coach That's why That right there that's why he did that and and being at Notre Dame gives you a chance to win a champion a national championship Which let's be honest Illinois is not really that That's why he wanted this That's why he came to Notre Dame It's because he wanted to work with that and he wanted to work with Marcus Freeman So this this should absolutely be one of the nation's best cornerback rooms draft. There's no excuse for that not to be so I did a quick rough total of all the snaps that you talked about that are returning to this room in 26 And they're obviously rough estimates, but it's over 5,900 Career snaps coming back to this room in 26 and that doesn't include obviously Aiden Pounsy, Cory Adams or Chasmith

9:22That's ridiculous. I mean there there are years Where one of those three incoming true freshmen probably start as a true freshman if not multiple previous years at Notre Dame And they're going to be fighting for a spot in the rotation because of how loaded this room is but Ryan Let's let's kind of dive into This room piece by piece and kind of talk about each player in this room and we got to start with Leonard Moore Like you said, he is the bona fide number one cornerback in the country. He was last year In preseason PFF ranked him is that ESPN ranked him is that and so obviously there's no reason for him not to be that this year And he put the exclamation point on it throughout 2025 Sure, even despite some of the struggles early in 25 he was Still one of if not their best defensive player And his struggles were a couple plays against Miami I mean, that's that's just he played great against Texas A&M Uh, he didn't catch a pass on the end zone where I don't know that he could even get off the ground with a Ninja ankle and then he misses the next two games and he's still a unanimous all American

10:27Playing 10 game last year It was hilarious latencies and watching teams continue to throw it Leonard Moore It was really funny like I literally got a kick out of it. I'm like Why is Sarah Q's throwing it Leonard Moore? Okay. All right. He's a young kid. He doesn't know any better All right, then they went and Sarah and Stanford did the same exact thing and you're just like what are you doing? Like why are you why are you trying to do this? I just don't understand so that was that was fun to watch It is is watching those teams try to go and Leonard Moore last year I do think the scary thing is treb though. I do think I don't think his game is peaked I think there's another level for Leonard Moore But when you talk expectations the number one expectation is just keep doing what you're doing Well, he had this game where he wasn't as good. Yeah, that's true of everybody There were games in 2024 where Travis Hunter didn't play great There were games when Cam Hart wasn't an elite player every single game and we're gonna have a fun discussion of the top 10 players

11:30I still remember Julian love the year he was a unanimous all American get smoked for a 50 yard play on a poster out by Nico Collins in the opener against Michigan That's that you're gonna have games like that who you are Deon Sanders and champ Baylor two best corners of my lifetime that I've ever seen in the NFL and I I can point to a couple games here and there where they got beat You know usually like Jerry Rice or something like that, but like you know, there were games like that Keep doing what you're doing But a challenge for Aaron Henry and this is this would have been a challenge for Mike Mick and Stu had a return But a challenge for coach Henry Is can you can you connect well enough to Leonard Moore as an individual To get him to buy into the notion that hey you can be even better Mike Mickins would have been able to do that because there was already that bond in that connection That's gonna be one of the challenges for coach Henry is can you and Leonard Moore get on the same page and that can be hard for a new coach who's inheriting a star Like how do you tell a star like well? I know you're the best corner of the country, but

12:31You got to get better here here here here. I'm gonna say and I'm the best corner back in the country You know, and what if the things you're teaching are different than what he's learned from Mike Mickins now the good news is For Aaron Henry and coach Henry is he inherits a pretty mature room And anyone who's ever spent more than two seconds talking to Leonard Moore knows this is a really sharp smart Intelligent young man who who is I think thoughtful and has a high football IQ that I think he'll buy into the notion that yes, I can be better But you got to connect you got to get that connection with him If Leonard Moore can just make normal sophomore to junior technical Improvements consistency improvements being locked in on what your task is improvements because let's not forget he was a true sophomore last year true sophomore If he can be bought into those things and and show those strides He will have a shot to go down as the best cornerback to ever played the other thing

13:32That's what's in front of him but even more importantly he could be so good that he plays a huge role in Notre Dame having an elite secondary And part of an elite defense which can be part of a championship football team that's the challenge for Leonard Moore Yes, you're the best in the country That's not the challenge the challenge for you Leonard Moore is Becoming the best version of yourself Do you want to be the best in the country by this much or do you want to be the best in the country by this much Because guys behind you they're they're put into work the receivers are going against you. They're put into work Do you want to be the best version of yourself and then the impact that can have so that's what I'm looking forward to seeing from them And then the other question trev is how do they use Leonard Moore What what impact does the USC game have on Notre Dame's thought process with Leonard Moore in 2026 Where they basically put him up against the best receiver in college football a guy that people are projecting as a top 15 draft Like it said you go where he goes and outside of one play he locked them down

14:35Completely locked them down That is going to be very interesting to see Trev very interesting to see I'm very curious to see what that because they face some really really good individual receivers couple of good wide receiver rooms But Notre Dame faces a handful of pretty good receivers This year this upcoming season Some of it too, I think could be the remaining development in the room You know Marcus Freeman talk last year. It's like okay to you rob Peter to pay Paul, you know So yeah sure we can have Leonard Moore shadow McIleman all game, but what happens with Jacobi Lane You know, there's situations like that, but now that Christian Gray is going to be a year older a player that we're getting ready to talk about you bring in DJ McKinney Dallas Golden's a year older Mark Zachary's a year older you have Jaden Sanders and then a bunch of talented freshmen waiting in the wings I think that's going to be interesting too some of the onus is going to be on Chris Ash to see how he gets used but I'm with you When we can have a conversation about Leonard Moore of big picture just keep doing what you're doing

15:37And what you're doing is being the number one cornerback in the country It's a heck of a spot But if Notre Dame is going to be the secondary and have the cornerback room that we think Another player is going to have to kind of join him up amongst some of those ranks I don't know if he's going to be able to compete for the best cornerback in the country But he has that potential We're talking about Christian Gray. This is going to this is his last dance Barring an injury. This is the last time we're going to see the last season We see Christian Gray at Notre Dame. Is this the culmination of everything and he puts it all together He's an elite player. Yeah, I think the signs are pointing in that direction Christian Gray has had a very interesting Notre Dame career He is in the same mold to me as Troy Pride Where there is a faction of the fan base Who over Emphasizes the place where he gets beat or makes mistakes and those exist And sometimes those are frustrating And then they ignore all the other stuff. I've talked to people in in cod's football that that have said

16:43Not just at Notre Dame, but have said if Christian Gray would have gone in the portal And there were some people trying to convince him to go in the portal Using how Notre Dame fans view him as a reason to do so And he would have been a hot commodity Because coaches see the film they see the 95 90 90 to 95% of when he's good he is elite Well, maybe not elite he is that group right under elite But then there's the you know, you're not trusting your technique you're getting grabby You're you know, you're this you're that and that's when he gets himself in trouble And that's what Christian has to figure out is how can you be the the good version of yourself 10% 15% more than you've been The tools are there now you need and then it's up to the Notre Dame coaching staff to then say How can we best utilize his game because here's the reality Christian Gray was not really recruited to be a field cornerback He played field cornerback because unfortunately for him

17:46In this regard he was at Notre Dame the same time as Benjamin Morrison and Leonard Moore That's the reality his game is more about coming up at the line of scrimmage pressing being aggressive in those type of things He's never been a good off-man cornerback or or zone cornerback actually he was he's better zone than he is off-man He's actually been pretty good playing zone in as a field cornerback But his game is at his best when he can come up and get get on you and pressure Well as a field cornerback you can't do that all day playing you're not gonna play cover one all day With pressed corners against anybody worth a darn And he would get in trouble. I mean we saw it against Jeremiah Smith We saw it against Georgia. He'd play off-man And he just is bad at the transition and off-man a lot of times. It's just not somebody's comfortable with So you have to say okay, can we just maybe get a little bit better here with him as a field cornerback Can we clean some things up or do we consider moving him inside a nickel where he can now be more aggressive

18:48And then knowing that he might have some help over the top a little bit more does that help him have more confidence in The teaching where he doesn't get grabby because when you're outside and you're on an island and a guy gets a step on you I think sometimes the panic mode sets in even in times where it shouldn't set in for him I think that's the question that they need to have and then does he have a feel for the game? I think there's some questions of people have had about okay. Can he um Can he tackle like you need to that that's not a question. It's just about will it be healthy enough to do that You go back to 2024 and even late 2025 Christian Gray is a very good tackler It's just he he was dealing with the shoulder injury last year that limited that to a degree Think of some of the big plays he made in in key moments as a as a tackler in 2024 You know going back to the a and m game in the opener you talk about uh The the fourth and two stop against us. See you talk about the crucial third down stop he had where he came up and drilled I think it was Nicholas singleton might have been k-tron Allen on a third and short Where they that third and four they tried to bounce it and he comes up and just boom draws them stops him in his tracks

19:53If he's healthy he can do that and that's the final piece for Christian is I think a lot of his Technical issues last year were related to him not having confidence in a shoulder And and if that's healed and I'm told it is I'm hoping that that allows him to play more consistent as a football player because When crit the good version of Christian Gray is really good He's just got to eliminate those four five plays a game where you're like dude. What are you doing Like you know better than that, you know, and and if he can limit those then he's gonna be a an absolute monster this season Where's that gonna be though field corner nickel both That's the question and that's what I want to see trip is he the starting nickel that also plays field when Dallas comes in or is he just the nickel or is he just the field that's what I'm curious to see Very curious to see Absolutely consistency is going to be the name of the game for Christian Gray and every sense of the word

20:55And one of the reasons why there's this discussion about you know Did they move them inside is because of DJ McKinney coming over from Colorado now he's not going to be here until the summer But the biggest question for DJ McKinney is what version of him are we going to get because 2024 and 2025 for a multitude of different reasons were two different stories for DJ McKinney But I think because of the makeup of the room I think we're going to see more of the 24 version of DJ McKinney than the 25 version Why hope so now he's someone I I was curious because Trevor when we first started talking about DJ McKinney I watched 25 film when I was like Okay He's okay. There's some good games some games. I didn't love he was he was solid. He was a solid player I was like why are they going after this kid and then I had somebody tell me watch this 24 film Okay cool Oh, this is different player and I asked him in their name I said what's the difference like what happening because he was actually he didn't report it

21:55But this is why he missed some games like near but he was hurt all year. He was dealing with an injury all season And and that really kept him from being Kind of what he needed to be last season and and that's why you see the difference in production He played almost 300 fewer snaps Then he did the year before You know his completion rate was up his yards allowed per reception was up Just overall he wasn't as effective of a player you go back and look at him in 24 when everyone was targeting and because the guy on the opposite side was Travis Hunter It was he was very good Trevor. He had three interceptions seven pass breakups according to pro football focus He was a guy that that had a lot of production. He went to get some good receivers was outstanding And he plays a lot of zone. He understands how to play zone You know, that's obviously something that they did a lot of it Colorado He knows how to play aggressive zone. He knows how to drive well in the football all those type of things So, you know, this is a kid that I think Brings a lot to the table 62 tackles two years ago had nine official pass breakups BFF gave him three or seven

23:00I mean, you know But this is a guy that has he's a he's a good football player. It's just about can he put it all together And stay healthy that that's a legitimate question for him But when he was when you go back and watch him from start to finish in 2024 Trevor. He was a really good football player Really a football player He was one of the other things that kind of makes me excited about what he's going to do this year in South Bend is in 24 The other thing that he had along with a full body of health Is he was playing alongside the Heisman winner Now this isn't me saying that Leonard Moore is going to go out and win the Heisman that'd be safe Right because he doesn't play offense. Right. Yeah, well, yeah, I think there's also a first team all American and uh Did then he also win the gym for board? I think so Let me go look that up. Well, I know he won the ballad culture. Hey Baron He won the ballad neck off and then he also is a consensus all American. Let me see. I forget I'm gonna look it up. I know he won some defensive awards in 2024 as well. He was a consensus all American as a corner as well

24:02Looking that up right now. He won the check. He yes. He won the lot trophy And he won the Chuck Bagnaric award as the top defensive player in the country So he was viewed as An elite corner we could debate whether he was the number one corner or not But he was treated like an elite corner by opposing teams to your point Which meant let that that that DJ McKinney went into every game knowing they're going to come at me and You know and I thought he handled that real well to your point Yeah, he he welcomed the challenge and looked at just for fun I looked on Fandall to see if they had any Heisman odds for Leonard Moore They don't because it goes like way down for like 50 to 75 guys They don't have any but point being DJ McKinney shined in 2024 one because he was healthy but two Because he knew that one side of the field was locked up some time like playing cornerback is a very psychological game sometimes we talked about that with Christian Gray Can you get your mojo back you have the confidence with this if you play nickel do you have more confidence to be aggressive if you have somebody over top of you

25:08And sometimes with cornerbacks you kind of see a little bit of like okay What do you do on like you're the guy or what do you do when you are opposite of the guy And so we have sample sizes of DJ McKinney was both obviously context matters and he was hurt in 2025 But it's one of the reasons why I'm very interested to see what he can do in South Bend this upcoming season Another player Brian that I'm very interested to see what he can do this year and I forgot he changed his number to one Until you brought up that graphic Of the depth of the roster, but it's Dallas golden Somebody who we've talked about very highly before and Irish break down one of the highest ranked recruits In the 2025 class he comes back for his sophomore year a lot of stake for him Some questions, but I think this is going to be a fun year for Dallas golden as well He was my number one ranked defensive recruit in the class in 2025 class And So nothing last year that would make me Back off of that the big thing that we talked about before the season with Dallas was

26:11This is a kid that did a little bit of everything he played running back He was in all state running back in high school. He caught passes He was returner. He played some corner. He played a lot of safety But he was never a full-time corner In high school and so the point that I made was He's going to need some time And and I don't he was not here in the spring either was he I don't think he was an early and roly I could be wrong. I don't I don't think he was so like Dallas needed that year of learning the position And and I think the the experiences he had last year where there were some good experiences he had last year Where he played well and there were some experiences where he struggled a little bit and and people got to him You know you think of the NC State game where he got beat on that double move You know for a big play And so there were certainly some moments where he struggled But then there's a lot of moments Trev where he played really good football And and so and he was thrust into the line up a lot early in the season didn't play as much late in the season but He's going to benefit from that now is he ready to be like the guy somewhere

27:17That's a legitimate question and I don't know the answer to that what I do know is that he is going to play an important role Another name this season is that as a starting nickel Is that as the rotation nickel is that as a a rotation field corner is that is the future boundary corner That I don't know that's what we're going to kind of have to decide here soon If I had to if I if it was up to me I'm working in first and foremost at corner Or I mean at nickel and then also having him get reps at field corner Where if I have a need at field corner he's in the competition to step into that because I think he's the next most talented guy On the roster and the potential isn't incredibly high But the reason I would like for him to still get a lot of nickel work I don't I know that Dallas would probably like to be the starter somewhere, but I want to play a rotation number one But he still is the future at nickel and this is what I've talked to people at Notre Dame about They said that before the staff turnover it was no he's we still view him as the future at nickel But he still has a some work to go

28:18But the other thought was like yeah We're going to put Christian and nickel but if Dallas has a monster spring and and we could always kick Christian back out the field And Dallas takes over at nickel I could see a year in which he's kind of plays a little bit of Both a couple spots Where you can play him inside and outside early on I hope that they just let him get comfortable one spot because he's still as talented as he is Developing as a technical player at corner He just got by on God given ability and good coaching last year He never looked like okay when Benjamin Morrison showed up in Notre Dame He looked like oh, I bet you that kid had a dad that played in the national football league in the secondary You know what I mean like he knew how to play the game And then when you combine big-time talent and football like you he was able to step in right away And look like he knew what he was doing Dallas the situation is very different and Benjamin was primarily a one-way player in high school Dallas played six different positions in high school He'd line up a running back slot receiver outside receiver corner safety and he'd line up in the slot of times

29:24He he was just An elite football player that's learning the technical part of the game How much growth he makes from a technical standpoint this offseason is going to determine how much he plays next year But I'm very curious to see what the feedback is from You know, what coach Henry thinks of Dallas Gold once he gets a chance to work with him Because the there's no doubt this young man has loads of talent Length athleticism toughness he just has to learn the finer points of the game And continue to get more experience playing the position And I'm looking forward to singing where he fits in in that regard But in in 2027 we're going to be having a conversation about Dallas Gold As long as he's you know sticks it out in this patient and that's true for every young player Where we're like okay? Is he going to be the best guy? Is he going to be their best player in the secondary this season? You know like where is he going to be a star this season And that's that's I can't look I'm looking forward to that

30:25But there's a lot of growth between here and there that we need to see him develop United health group is simplifying health care by investing in tools to help patients No more and pay less These tools help patients find providers and compare costs and save hundreds of dollars annually Learn more at unitedhealthgroup.com slash commitment Bringing your business dreams to life takes heart and about a thousand decisions a day That's why Atlantic Union Bank's knowledgeable bankers are here for you With the right guidance and customized solutions to help you reach your business goals So whether you're planning your next move Upgrading your space or scaling to meet demand We make sure your business is ready for what's ahead because we're big enough to support you yet small enough to know you Atlantic Union Bank anyway you bank Few things are as uplifting as the greatest moments in sports and nothing brings us together quite like team USA at the Olympic winter games

31:26From NBC universals iconic storytelling to the innovative technology across Exfinity and peacock Comcast brings the Olympic Games home to America sharing every moment with millions when team USA steps onto the world stage We're not just watching. We're cheering together. This winter. We're all on the same team Comcast proud partner of team USA Our HBC news have a legacy that's straight up golden And McDonald's is proud to help keep it that way Since 2021 the golden arches has connected with the third good martial college fund To provide one million dollars in scholarships for students headed to our HBC use That kind of cash helps keep bright minds on the yard dreams within reach and the future golden Learn more about McDonald's black and positively golden scholarships at mcdblackscholars.com A big offseason from Dallas golden would be absolutely huge for this defense and and sometimes I'll even take it a step further

32:27I don't even think it's a question of like does he start over Christian and then bumps Christian out Notre Dame in their secondary now has the opportunity for the first time since Marcus Freeman has taken over to have a true rotation at nickel In 2024 they brought in Jordan Clark in the expectations like hey buddy You're just going to play almost every defensive snap at nickel You know in 2025 it was Okay, we'll see what happens with the bante smith he wasn't able to stay healthy cause some issues at the nickel position especially early on in the season But I imagine a world where what if Christian Gray and Dallas golden rotated nickel What if they get into the postseason and by the time the semifinals roll around Christian Gray isn't walking into snap 650 at nickel What if he's walking into snap 420 And Dallas golden's there rotating with them a breakout for Dallas golden unlocks a bunch of different options that you can have If that kind of Through football like you light ball goes on and he has that freshman to sophomore jump That would absolutely be huge for this room to where they don't even have to bump anybody back outside or anything

33:28I mean the options would be huge for him there Very excited to see what happens Another player on here that we're talking about fellow recruiting classmate at Dallas golden is Mark Zachary He's somebody that we saw in a capacity last season But again like it was last year. It's a very crowded room. Can he make a push? It's going to be very interesting to see what he can do this all season Yeah, this is an interesting offseason for Mark Zachary because He's a talented player a lot like Dallas still learning the inner the finer points of cornerback play You know you talk about about mark coming out of high school He was another player trev that had to learn a lot about the position You know, he was like he was a two-way standout. He was a little bit He was more advanced than what what Dallas was but he was a you know He won mr football in Ohio or excuse me in Indiana not because Just because he was only cornerback. He was also a really good wide receiver And and he's gonna have to you know learn a lot of those finer points that we're talking about with with uh with

34:29Dallas golden but mark mark had some some great experience last year trev and and I thought he showed a lot of growth from a technical standpoint Obviously had a couple starts last year started against Purdue and he had some struggles in that game And then the next week against Arkansas also started and I thought he played way better like the mistakes He made in the first week. He didn't make in the next week And then you know throughout the year he had different moments right thought he played pretty good football And and played a lot of snaps. He had to start against Boston College because Kirsten Gray was out And he I thought he played very well that came he actually I thought gospel you played better and more did that came in for the most part So he's got a lot of talent, but he's in a situation where He is also the smallest guy at the position You know like like how he's gonna have a lot of competition not just from Dallas golden And the older players, but now you've got Jaden Sanders transferring in you've got the incoming freshman class

35:30Mark Zachary has all the town in the world to be a legitimate player for Notre Dame, but So does everybody else at the position and this is also true for Dallas like this is why you need to be locked in and competing because Aiden Pouncy and Jaden Sanders and and Chas Smith and especially Kari Adams aren't going to walk in and be like well You know, I'm just a freshman. I'm a newcomer. I'll wait my turn No, they're gonna come in and say I want to play and who's standing between me and that okay one of them is number 24 And I got to pass that guy up And now this is part of reason I'm so excited about this room this year trev because if these are the competitors that we think they are and For anyone that knows Mike Mickens. That's a big part of what he goes and recruits. He wants competitors This the depth that the room is going to make guys say okay. I got to bring it. I got to be locked in And so you've got to bring your best every day So so mark is going to have a very interesting offseason because he's got guys in front of him that he's got to try to pass up

36:33And he's got guys behind him trying to pass him up I think just more consistency is going to be important But the big thing for Mark Zachary more than anything on top of the technical improvement things like that He's got to get functionally stronger That's going to be a big thing for him and that's why I was glad his basketball thing didn't last as long You know like it was good that he helped the team out But then once football work out started he he decided nay It's time to get back to football because he needs the weight room time more than anybody else of the position Dallas needs it as well But nobody needs as much as Mark does because he's just a smaller guy who's basketball player You know, he wasn't playing football year round He's going to need to it's not so much about getting bigger It's about getting stronger his play strength needs to be improved if he's especially he's going to play outside So I'm curious to see what kind of growth they can make there But this is a big offseason for Mark and he's just yet another very talented player that's going to be fighting Tooth and nail to get into the two deep at this position and in what's a very crowded deep and talented room

37:34Let's talk a little bit about the Michigan transfer Jaden Sanders He came over and that was Believe one of their later editions in the portal I remember when the news broadcast like oh interesting I didn't think they were going to take multiple there But you pop up the film. It's a talented guy. He played as a true freshman at Michigan So he now comes into this loaded room His impact might be felt a little bit down the road Yes, kind of a common theme for the final four guys that we're talking about here But you know his arrival is definitely going to provide some sort of impact for this cornerback room Yeah, this this is an interesting one because If you compare him and Mark Zachary I think Mark Zachary's got more just god-given talent Jaden Sanders fits the defense that I think Chris Ash wants to run a little bit better Now my question is is that as a boundary corner as a field corner They didn't really play field boundary in the games he played in a Michigan. They kind of played to a side So he has experience playing both But with Sanders it's kind of like okay If he's a field corner he's kind of what they're looking for tall

38:35He's a little over six feet tall very long arms Rangy played exclusively zone last year Uh at at at at Michigan. I mean they were a heavy cover three team like heavy cover three team So there's an adjustment period for him To hopefully play in a more aggressive defense But that's also partly why I'm I'm concerned that Chris Ash wants to kind of go to that type of defense as well because That's partly why they went after Jaden Sanders But I also think Mike Mickins like Jaden Sanders a lot I think he's got the physical tools to be more aggressive. He just didn't do that at Michigan. He didn't high school But today view him as the future at boundary behind you know Leonard Moore where maybe he competes with Cari Adams for that role Do they view him as a field corner where he's going to compete Against DJ McKinney maybe Christian Gray maybe Dallas Golden and Mark Zachary for a starting spot That's the question that I don't know. I don't know where they view him I knew where Mike Mickins viewed him I don't know where Aaron Henry and Chris Ash necessarily view him

39:38So I'm very curious about that But look this is a kid to play a lot of football last year also And he's not coming in thinking my my future my I'm down the road is when I'm gonna have the impact He's coming into compete and and play now And he's got some tools that you really like he's like I said he's long. He's he's functionally. He's got good play strength He's got to be a much more effective tackler Then what he was last year he was solid early late in the year he he had a lot of missed tackles part of that was Because they had him playing so off That he had a lot further to go Guys could square him up and make moves when he got there, you know where Notre Dame's corners late in the year If guy caught the ball on him they were getting hit right away It's easier to tackle a guy that's not squared Square and you up and trying to make moves and he can see all around and nowhere as cuts need to be And so I hopefully they let him be more aggressive this year than he was a Michigan And I think he'll be more effective there But he's got a lot of the tools that they like there's a reason they went after him After already bringing all these guys back after already having the incoming freshman class

40:38After already getting DJ McKinney they go get him to Because the staff is very high on Jaden Sanders But to your point will he come in to make an immediate impact will he be more of a too deep guy Will he be a guy that plays so well that he beats out DJ McKinney he beats out Christian Or you know he plays so well at the field spot that he starts at field and they put you know Christian greatness in the nickel spot I'm not discounting Jaden Sanders as being a guy that could could earn a starting spot at some point time at cornerback If they decide he's a field guy I could also see them maybe potentially grooming him in the boundary along with Cari Adams But I think the biggest question for me is where do they see him In this secondary And if they pick a spot for him Which I would put him at the field that's what I mean what I would do right away is I'm gonna let I'm gonna let Cari Adams kind of be the understudy For Leonard Moore and then I can move Christian Gray over there if Leonard goes down I could have you know, I could move somebody over there. I would I would maybe cross train a veteran there but

41:41Cari Adams would be my future there I'm gonna let Jaden Sanders Aiden Pouncy really compete At the field spots and Jaden Sanders especially since he played last year I'm gonna put him at field at first let him compete there And say hey look because right now the guy that we all think is gonna start at field cornerback won't be on the roster this spring So who's that who's that I'm curious to see who the first team field corner is the first day of practice Will it be Christian Gray? Or will it be Jaden Sanders? Will it be Mark Zachary? Will it be You know somebody else Christian Gray I'm very curious to see who that Dallas Golden I'm very curious to see who that's going to be But if Jaden McKinnon if Jaden Sanders is allowed to play one position primarily this spring I think he will push For a starting spot and you may not end up winning it, but he's gonna be a factor there He's got the talent to be a factor there there's no doubt about it I'm with you. I'm looking forward to seeing what Jaden Sanders can do this offseason

42:44I'm also very curious to see what that starting defensive rotation looks like day one of spring A day that we always kind of have to take with a grain of salt because that's kind of where Foundations start being built. I understand that but Another group of kids that we can't really count out Because of the high level of talent that they bring to the tables this freshman class earlier in this segment You talked about how it's the most talented cornerback Class in the country in the 2026 recruiting class and I agree One of the reasons why is because of curry atoms Somebody that's in just an absolutely elite talent You said top 50 player in the country in the 2026 recruiting class Can he come in and make an immediate impact? We'll see because there's been this trend lately in South Bend brine of true freshman cornerbacks coming in and showing out Different circumstances each year, but we'll see what's ahead for curry atoms. I'm very excited to watch it Well, I mean, Trev we you you you guys all know my opinion on curry atoms. He's an absolute stud He was my number two ranked player in this class. I great them as a top 50 player

43:48Five star upside. He was only behind Joey O'Brien Right ahead of Rodney Dunham like missed Rodney Dunham by like two points And this is on like a 700 plus point scale. He was behind Rodney Dunham I think like a couple points or ahead of Rodney Dunham by a couple points Which says a lot about how good those two guys are The thing about curry is he made a lot of improvement as a senior technically But he still has a long way to go But the tools are outstanding. He's long He's physical for a guy who's some 180 pounds He's got really good like play strength. He's fast He's athletic His instincts prove improved as a senior like he got on the ball a lot more as a senior than he did as a junior Two way player he's got a lot of technical work that's needed but curry has a elite talent The question is how quickly does he does that talent turn into production And where do they play him again? Is he the future at boundary? I would definitely let him try to be that guy But I also see some things from curry atoms that make me think he could be a real good field corner

44:51He drives on the ball really well. He's very rangy You know, he's a solid tackler For his age. So I think he could play both outside spots But if you're doing defense the right way you still have someone in the boundary that can just play lockdown man coverage And like there's a discussion in the chat about you know, I'd put Leonard Morton field I'm like no, I can't I can't go there because That you've got to put your best corner back in the field and let if you're a field boundary team Now I'm okay playing right left Like I'd be okay with that too like those both work field boundary works right left works And then you're playing both, but when you just stick a guy to the field You don't you take and he's a guy that's elite at press coverage you take away what he does best in my opinion And and that's what Leonard does and I think curry has the same tools to do that Carries six one plus close to six two very long arms fast Find tracks the ball well once the technique catches up to the talent What's once the weight room strength catches up to the

45:53The natural strength and and willingness to battle He's got all the tools to be the next elite corner back another day He's not the only one in the freshman class But that's why I would give him a shot at at at boundary now If he's so good that you're like dude, his kids got to play well number one You can rotate him with Leonard Moore and games where you want to give Leonard more breathers, right? I mean, maybe you don't do that against Miami, but you maybe do that in a lot of other games You know, so that way Leonard Moore's not playing every single snap Against Purdue and Michigan state and rice and teams like that, you know to mean let let curry get some early reps there to To you know minimize Leonard's snap. So he's ready to play every snap against BYU and SMU and And and obviously it's Miami and then of course in the postseason but Does he play so well the forces you to maybe give him a shot to the field that that's a question that you have to have With curry Adam so there's part of the role with him this year is grooming him to be Step into maybe another role, but then

46:53But you're also don't want to stick him only at boundary if you think he can help you now because You got the best quarterback in country plan there So I think that's kind of how I'm very curious to see his development right now learn the boundary And then if you you know show some prowess there and we think you can help with somewhere else then maybe you give some cross training ability But you know there there's also a world in which you may go into a game where Hey, we're playing Miami And they're gonna have Makai, you know, they're gonna have Malachi Tony to the field a lot he's gonna play a lot of slot a lot of Z So we're gonna move Leonard over there for this game like we did against USC So you can either move someone else to the boundary or if curry's ready to go Now now you can put him into where there's a world in which if you're gonna have Leonard Travel Some this year against some of those top receivers that you talked about early trap that if curry's ready he just slides into the boundary

48:00And you kind of do it that way so that that's another interesting aspect of it too is how quickly can he show himself ready to Hey, I can play this coach if you need me That then what is the think of the freedom that gives them to then feel comfortable traveling Leonard more In situations where the other teams best receivers may be a field guy or a slot I'm very curious to see how that goes as well and the same thing is true for Aiden Pouncy But on the other side I actually think Aiden should get a shot at boundary as well But I kind of see him as that field guy the super ranger super long can cover a lot of ground like If Aiden Pouncy turns out to be the player I think he can be You're gonna see plays where he's playing cover three as a field corner back and some team tries to throw a seam route And he just squeezes on it and jumps in front of it picks it off or drills the guy He's got great range at field corner. I would say the same thing about Chaz Smith travel I think both of these kids have the kind of length and speed and athleticism to thrive I think all three of these corners are elite. I think Chaz gets way overlooked

49:02I think Aiden Pouncy gets overlooked because of how good curry atoms and joeal Brian are but these are big time corners Aiden's that unique kid because he could play field boundary He could play safety. He's got to get a lot stronger He's got to fill out that six three hundred seven seven something pound frame What did they have him list that one seventy two that's skinny for six three So he may need some weight room time, but length ball skills competitiveness out athleticism Ball like ball skills instincts like he's got big time talent Big time talent It's again, where does he fit? Is he a boundary guy? Is he a field guy? Is he a nickel Maybe a little long to be a nickel Chaz Smith is the next one Chaz is to me could play boundary Chaz could play field he could play nickel Chaz Smith gets forgotten Trev because he was the first corner to commit And like Brian Smith asked me this on his show I was on his show last week and he says why do you think Chaz Smith is overlooked? And I said we committed way too early

50:03And he's not ranked aside by the recruiting services If Carrey would have committed super early and then Aiden would have committed super early and then they're trying to add Chaz Smith is the third guy He'd have got a lot more buzz But he committed way before everybody else And therefore his ranking didn't really skyrocket a ton But he finished the year I believe as a top hundred player He was ranked 94th at one time By on three. I don't know if they dropped them in the final rankings or not But at one point time using the 90s. Yeah, they dropped them all the way down to 184 But believe me folks, this is a big time football player That he can help Notre Dame even as a freshman again long athletic fast instinctive He's had some injury concerns like he's been banged up a little bit at times in his high school career That's going to be a big thing and he's listed as a buck 63. So I think Chaz is probably more of a 2027 is when his time really comes But man, I'm looking forward to watching all these freshmen play But here's the reality of what Kari Adams, Aiden Palatine, Chaz, Smith do

51:04They're kind of like Your insurance policy and what do I mean by that? They are a big reason why your secondary is going to be super talented this year and super productive Why do I say that? Well, I say that because the everyone not named Leonard Moore is going to be like I got to bring it today If I don't bring it today, this kid's going to pass me up You know like like and for DJ McKinney and Christian Gray It's like you got a lot of guys or you know, it's not only the freshman, but it's Dallas golden. It's more exactly. It's Jaden Sanders and the freshmen If you don't want to put into work, you're going to get passed up By the freshman or the sophomores If you if you if you're not locked in if you got something distracting you from from just being as 100% locked in You're going to get passed up That's true for Christian Gray DJ McKinney Jaden Sanders Dallas Gold Mark Zachary everybody not named Leonard Moore really And so that's why I say that their talent

52:04And their willingness to come in and compete Is going to push everybody else and if somebody's not going to do it then they're just going to get passed up And next man in So I just I love that the depth of it and I love the fact that the freshman you listen to them talk Yes, they are not coming in you're saying well, I'm just going to sit back and learn and Spend the next two years sit behind older play. No, they're coming in to compete right now Yeah, here's here's the mindset and I'm I'm not going to spoil too much because I'm going to have an article coming out about this in the next couple days But here's an idea of the mindset of Kari Adams the first question that he was asked when they went upstairs He got asked about his high school career and he said a lot of guys with your length and speed one to play offense Why was it cornerback for you? This was Kari Adams response My freshman year in high school we had some receivers, but I didn't like their attitudes They were a little sassy on defense. You could go smash them and I wanted to go smash them That's I mean that's a dog

53:05Like that's awesome And so that's a little sneak piece that type of players super nonchalant like just very matter of fact Like it like you know what I mean travel like it was just like yeah, this is this is why and you know It's just like oh, of course why you know it wasn't like you know being funny and joking around is like this is why I wanted to do and I flip it Yeah, I mean that's this class is going to be exceptional. I'm so excited But you're very right very much an insurance policy and I'm excited to see what they can do this spring That's because it's just one of those things where The in what what do we mean by the insurance policy? It's They are there to make sure that everybody else ahead of them Does the work that they need to do And and if you don't because if you don't what happens You're you're gonna get passed up That's what I love and and it's kind of like I have what what is that commercial? What's the one with Teddy bridge water, right?

54:06It's where they get the replacement listener or the like it's there's Tommy Davido was in one like he's the bad backup What's the what's it the commercial for? Like it's some sort of insurance type of thing. Yeah, isn't it something like that? But it's progressive or aflight. It's one of those but it's kind of one of those things where it's like okay cool You don't want to do the work. Hey Kari hey Aiden hey Chaz hey Dallas hey Mark Zachary hey Jayden Saunders You know, it's like you want to put into work. Here's the backup corner You know meaning like you don't put into work. We're going to put in somebody else And I love it. There was actually a fair question as we kind of wrap up the cornerback room somebody said You know, we know that mickens. It was from trev's bicell whole glasses He said mickens likes the longer rangel DB. So do we know what Aaron Henry looks for and recruiting That's obviously something we'll learn Illinois last year signed five corners And those cornerbacks were a six foot 195 pound corner from Illinois a six one

55:07175 pound corner from Mississippi a six one hundred and sixty five pound corner from Florida a 5 11 a hundred and 95 pound corner Transfer corner from Texas and then a five pound a 5 11 85 pound Corner that also transferred in So they were guys that so the two transfers were five 11 the three high school kids he recruited were six foot six one and six one So again, there's there's a track record of of That with Illinois as well and I don't I'm not concerned about like that changing A whole lot. I think that'll you know, he'll have some differences from from Mike mickens obviously They signed two cornerbacks in the 25 class. They were both six one So I think that part of it will will continue and again, I think that's also partly why you're stepping into this room Because you've got a lot of freshman and sophomores that fit what you're looking for as a coach

56:08Absolutely, I'm with you Well folks, that's going to do it for part three today Showed not going in where we're getting ready to wrap up this show with a really really fun segment coming up here But before we get there, be sure to hit that like hit that subscribe hit that notification bell be sure to say To Bush completely lost my train of thought be sure to subscribe to this podcast So you know whenever we go live whatever streaming platform you listen to us on We would greatly appreciate a five star review But as always folks best way to support what we do here is subscribe to the premium message boards at boards that iris breakdown

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