Trainer | CB DJ McKinney Will Add Versatility To Notre Dame Secondary
Notre Dame began to reshape its secondary with the addition of former Colorado cornerback DJ McKinney last week, a move that brings both physicality and positional versatility to the Irish defense.
Those traits are exactly what stood out to Christian White, McKinney’s longtime trainer at Flight Skills Training, who believes the Irish are getting a defender capable of handling top assignments on the outside and the inside.
“He’s going to be a great man-to-man corner, very physical,” White said. “He loves to get hands on guys and he loves to play the run. That’s what really stands out about him.”
McKinney arrives in South Bend after two seasons at Colorado, where he established himself as a reliable presence in the Buffaloes’ secondary following the start of his career at Oklahoma State. He finished his time in Boulder with 95 tackles and 13 pass breakups across 22 starts, production that reflects both his willingness to tackle and his comfort playing in space.
The 6-foot, 190-pound cornerback brings a physical profile that allows him to match up with bigger receivers while still moving fluidly enough to handle multiple roles, according to White.
“He’s got long arms and a tremendous frame,” White said. “He holds a lot of weight up top, which allows him to be really physical in jams and collisions. That gives coaches flexibility to move guys around and maybe even slide others inside, because he can handle a true number one or number two receiver.”
That versatility figures to be a key part of McKinney’s value to Notre Dame, particularly as the Irish look to solidify their boundary options while maintaining flexibility at Nickel and across the rest of the secondary.
Off the field, White described McKinney as businesslike and steady, a player who lets his work speak for him.
“He’s a quiet guy,” White said. “He shows up, handles his business and gets out of there. He’s always locked in on what he needs to do.”
White believes the transition to Notre Dame presents an opportunity for McKinney to fully showcase his skill set after playing in multiple systems early in his college career.
“He’s been under different coaches and different schemes,” White said. “This gives him a chance to really show what he can do in a pro-style defensive look.”
For McKinney, the move to South Bend represents both stability and opportunity, a chance to anchor himself in a system that fits his strengths and allows him to take on a prominent role in the secondary.
“I think this is going to let him show people exactly who he is as a player.”
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