Notre Dame enters the 2025 season with one of the most talented secondaries in the nation despite losing two former All-Americans in cornerback Benjamin Morrison and safety Xavier Watts.
The emergence of Christian Gray and Leonard Moore at cornerback, along with rising safety Adon Shuler, has helped solidify Mike Mickens’ unit.
Graduate transfer DeVonta Smith and sophomore Karson Hobbs give the Irish a firm rotation at nickel, offering both experience and upside.
The only question heading into fall camp is who will start opposite Shuler at safety and the Irish have options.
Grad transfer Jalen Stroman brings 36 games of experience to the table, including 111 career tackles, which is something his competition doens’t have. Junior Luke Talich has found a role on special teams and had a good spring game, but he lacks reps at safety in game situations.
The wild card in the room is sophomore Tae Johnson, who is quietly turning heads after returning from a foot injury that limited him to just three games last season.
Johnson took full advantage of spring ball while Stroman was sidelined. His performance drew the attention of new defensive coordinator Chris Ash.
”I didn't know much about him, to be honest with you,” explained Ash. “Then we get out there and this safety starts showing up and flashing and making a lot of plays.”
Ash quickly learned about the Fort Wayne native and Johnson’s traits have the Irish staff high on his potential as he made plays at all three levels of the defense.
“He's got good size,” stated Ash. “He can run. He's getting his hands on balls and you can see him breaking out of the middle. Like, ‘Man, who the hell is this?’ That's when I really started to figure out who he was. He just flashed and made plays all spring. Now he's not perfect. He gave up some as well, like people do, but he definitely showed some big play potential here this spring.”
How athletic is Johnson?
Johnson started his Notre Dame career working at cornerback during fall camp a year ago before his injury.
Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman was also pleased with what he’s seen from Johnson and knows the Irish have a player who can find a role somewhere in the defensive backfield.
”Tae is extremely athletic,” Freeman saidIt’s been good to see him out there playing at the safety position. He’s also played some corner and he could also play some nickel. He’s an athletic young man who is really grasping the scheme of what he’s asked to do and playing at a high level.
“He’s had a really good spring. I hope he continues on the trajectory that he’s on.”
Where has his most significant growth come from?
Johnson credits much of his growth to his work with strength coach Loren Landow, having added close to 20 pounds since arriving in South Bend.
“I would say for sure my strength,” Johnson stated in April. “I’m getting a lot stronger than last year and I probably gained almost 20 pounds from just when I came in. Also just my coverage skills with the experience playing corner. I feel like that helped me out a lot to be able to guard anybody or guard any type of position, whether it’s a big receiver, small receiver, or tight end.”
Johnson was also a sponge last year as he watched Watts every day. The 6-foot-2, 193-pounder understands what it takes to be great and Johnson will have an opportunity over the next month to prove he should be on the field.
“I’ve seen it up close,” said Johnson. “Me and X had a good relationship. Seeing the blueprint that X had - I watched him and it definitely gives me motivation to try and follow in those footsteps.
“It’s why I came here and just try to get better every day, because I have confidence in my talent. I believe I can get better and control the things I can control. Everything else will take care of itself.”
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