Notre Dame has had success landing graduate transfers for the nickel position in recent years.
Thomas Harper and Jordan Clark provided immediate impacts for the Irish and there were high expectations for DeVonta Smith entering 2025 after transferring from Alabama.
Smith’s season didn’t start the way he hoped, as a nagging calf injury sidelined him early. But that’s now firmly in the past. Smith has logged at least 38 snaps in each of the last four games and is finally feeling like himself.
“I definitely feel 100 percent,” stated Smith. “My body feels good. Coming out of the last game, I felt good. Just staying on top of my things, being proactive, not being reactive. Just handling everything from there. I feel good.”
Notre Dame benefited from his absence, as freshman Dallas Golden stepped into meaningful reps and accelerated his development.
Smith made it a priority to mentor Golden, and he sees a bright path ahead for the Florida native.
“He has a bright future,” Smith said of Golden.“That kid is extremely special. I love him. He’s a guy that I took under my wing when he came here. Very special, very talented, very athletic. I was extremely proud of the way he came in after I got hurt and how he’s played. Everything wasn’t perfect, but he’s learned a lot of lessons throughout his time of being able to be out there and get that experience.
“He’s going to be one of those guys – the next guy to come out of here that’s very, very special.”
It’s not a surprise that Smith has been able to mentor Notre Dame’s younger defensive backs, as he has received coaching from two of the best in Nick Saban and Mike Mickens.
The lessons from Saban are still implemented on a daily basis by Smith.
“Everything he’s taught me, I try to take in and use for my benefit,” explained Smith. “Definitely one thing he always harped on was having good eyes. When you have good eyes, you have good feet. Being very technical myself in how I prepare before the play. Once the play happens, you just start and you just go, but you get a lot of your work done before the play starts.”
Mickens and Smith have a long-standing relationship dating back to the high school recruiting days.
Smith is very aware of the long resume Mickens has developed and wanted to get coached by one of the best in his last year.
“He's very detailed,” Smith stated. “Every team knows we play man coverage and he preaches and teaches us how to be very detailed in our work – knowing when to make the right decision, the right call.”
Coming from Tuscaloosa, Smith admits that transitioning to South Bend brought some culture shock. But he wouldn’t trade the experience and hopes there's much more football ahead.
“It definitely has been special to be a part of it,” stated Smith. “Even watching those guys last year make it and go all the way. Obviously, they came up short, but that journey they went on was very special. This year, I’m not going to say it’s the same team, but the same energy and the same team goal. That’s to get team glory each and every weekend and reach our full potential, which is making it to the national championship and bringing it back to South Bend.
“It’s been special to work with these guys. I love this group. We’re a close, tight-knit group, and I love them. We’re going to go out there and give it our all, each and every week.”
Smith has been part of teams that have won at a high level, so big games aren’t new to him. He knows how to focus on the moment without looking too far ahead.
“Truthfully, I’ve not been trying to think too much about that,” said Smith. “We still have one game left in the season. The team is truly locked in and focused on what’s ahead of us, and that’s Stanford. We really haven’t given that much thought.
“We would love to have a home game. That would be a dang good thing for our team and our city, but we’re truly just locked in on Stanford at the moment.”
Want the latest scoop on the Fighting Irish? Sign up for our newsletter and become an ISD Premium Subscriber: Sign Up for ISD
