Notre Dame's Young Cornerbacks Impressing Brian Kelly
Entering fall camp, Notre Dame's cornerbacks needed to answer a few questions.
On paper, youth and talent jump out, but Mike Mickens' room lacks experience.
Sophomore Clarence Lewis and senior TaRiq Bracy provide the most experience, but both were part-time starters in 2020.
The lack of experience could actually be a positive as Marcus Freeman has brought press-man to Notre Dame, so they know nothing but the aggressive style of defense and the staff has pushed the group hard in August.
"I think they've done well," Kelly said. "There's a lot of work out there for them on a day-to-day basis in practice, 1on1 every day, 7on7 for multiple periods. So the GPS load is high, we're cognizant of their recovery and nutrition, maintaining their weight. There's a lot going into the maintenance when you're running down the field and back. They're not just rerouting receivers from 7 yards and playing Cover-2.
"There's a lot going on there, but I think they've handled it really well. I think we've also built some depth there, too."
Lewis appears to be Notre Dame's top corner after recording 33 tackles and seven passes defended.
He'll start opposite Cam Hart, who was moved to cornerback in the middle of the 2019 season. There have been some expected growing pains there as Hart didn't get a spring in 2020 and then the fall was anything but normal.
"I think Clarence it's been physical; we thought he was a step behind in terms of what he needed to do in terms of weight room and he did that," explained Kelly. "I think there's still more there in terms of just the nuances of the game.
"Cam is really strong physically. One of the strongest defensive backs we have. So it was for him, playing with a confidence and calmness. He was a reacher and maybe a little tugger and grabber at times when he didn't need to be.
"So I think just being more comfortable playing the position. Whereas Clarence had been there, had been a corner and needed to work on the physical. Cam was more technical."
The name to watch is sophomore Ramon Henderson.
The California native arrived in South Bend as a big athlete as he checks in at 6-foot-1, 190 pounds. Henderson projected at cornerback because of his raw tools, but needed time to develop.
Henderson has impressed and while he might not start, Kelly feels confident in him and the cornerback unit.
"I like him," stated Kelly. "I think he's in a really good position. He's just continued to grow learning the position. If we had to play him, there would be confidence in his ability to go out there and compete. I think we're establishing some pretty good depth at the cornerback position.
"To me, there have been years I'd just do one of these (cover his eyes) and put somebody out there. But I feel pretty good about, some good depth there."
Bracy is the veteran of the group and went through some struggles in 2020, but it seems like he’s rebounded and can factor into the mix at nickel.
”TaRiq had a good spring when I was here,” defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman said. “I know obviously some things last year, I wasn't here, you guys know that. I just evaluate off what I've seen.
“He had a good spring, and his fall camp, to me, has been better. “Now, his numbers in the weight room and his numbers in different accountability things that we do have been up. Meaning that he's putting in the time and effort to make sure he's doing everything right. Weight room, diet, off the field and his performance has been really, really well. Over these 10 practices, TaRiq Bracy has been a high-performing DB for us.”
Caleb Offord, a classmate of Henderson and true freshman Ryan Barnes, have also caught the eye of Kelly over the last three weeks.
"I think Barnes, Caleb Offord, those guys were kind of not even ready for competitive reps within our own world, where now today I said, 'Give me Barnes against (Kevin) Austin.'
"I want to see them. I think Barnes, I think Caleb has done a nice job and those two guys were not at that point for us at the cornerback position."