Q&A W/ Inside Pack Sports On New Notre Dame CB Nick McCloud
Irish Sports Daily reached out to James Henderson, owner of InsidePackSports on the F5 Network for his thoughts on Nick McCloud’s transfer to Notre Dame.
What is Notre Dame getting in Nick McCloud as a player? Strengths? Weaknesses?
I'm a big fan of Nick McCloud. He's a physical corner capable of playing in multiple schemes. He's been a strong special teams player and was a team captain.
Physically he checks a lot of boxes with his height and length. He's also a willing tackler who will come up and make tackles against the run.
He's not the fastest cornerback but plays with good technique. Another weakness has been health. He's frequently battled injuries throughout his career.
What was he able to do on the field while at NC State?
He was productive. He worked his way to the field as a true freshman and often produced.
One of his best games was in 2018 when NC State allowed him to shadow Marshall star receiver Tyre Brady. The previous season, Brady shredded NC State with 11 catches for 248 yards. State didn't shadow Brady, instead they played sides with their corners and he frequently worked opposite McCloud.
In 2018, NC State allowed McCloud to move around and follow Brady, even into the slot. Brady had three catches for 25 yards.
What were the reasons behind his transfer?
He was injured in 2019 and never seemed interested in getting back on the field. It was a very odd situation, but the belief is he was going to use the four-game rule to potentially redshirt.
NC State had four corners go down with injuries which allowed several young cornerbacks to receive playing time. Nearly all of those corners were set to return, which would also mean more competition in 2020 for McCloud. Add in a new cornerbacks coach and that opened the door for McCloud's decision. He was really close to former cornerbacks coach George Barlow.
What is McCloud like as a person? What will ND’s locker room be adding?
He had no issues... was a team captain and frequently represented NC State in the community.
What did his coaches and teammates think of him?
High character kid. I think the final year was a problem at times because it was believed he could help the team battle through problems, but he didn't work his way back. However, you didn't hear a ton of negative buzz about McCloud.