Leonard Moore Embracing Expectations as Notre Dame’s Defense Takes Shape

The last eight months have provided plenty of discussion around Notre Dame football. Playoff snub aside, the nation has been talking about the talent returning to South Bend, and it starts with All-American cornerback Leonard Moore.

Moore, the nation’s top cornerback, isn’t fazed by the hype entering his junior season. He’s taking it all in stride. In fact, Moore’s success last fall prepared him for the noise, allowing him to embrace the attention rather than run from it.

“There's always going to be attention and especially at a place like Notre Dame,” said Moore. “If you’re at Notre Dame, which I kind of experienced last year, you're going to have a lot of eyes on you, a lot of attention on you, a lot of questions being asked about you, and maybe a lot of hype like we've had this year.” 

The Texas native is well aware of the hype surrounding the team, as the Fighting Irish are among the favorites to win the national title. But, just as he does with his individual success, Moore believes the Irish need to focus on the work rather than listen to the outside noise.

“I guess it's about staying in the dark, as Freeman would say, not paying attention to the outside noise,” explained Moore. “We're just trying to keep our head down every day and keep working and getting better every day, because at the end of the day, that stuff is based on last year. This year is a whole new year.” 

How has Moore improved his game? It starts with how he lines up.

Moore spent much of Notre Dame’s summer 7-on-7 sessions working on disguising his coverages to confuse opposing offenses and quarterbacks.

“In the fall camp, it's more playing my technique, the stuff that we are going to do on game day,” stated Moore. “But in the summertime, there was a lot of changing around disguises, mixing up coverages and seeing how we could disguise the look pre-snap so that the quarterback might be seeing something different, and even the receiver, because they change their routes off of the coverage.

“I was doing a lot of experiments with that just so when we get out here, it's either something I can do or know not to do.” 

The ability to experiment with disguises also speaks to the level of comfort Notre Dame’s secondary has entering the 2026 campaign. A year ago, the Irish were focused on learning a new scheme and finding comfort within it.

This August, Notre Dame’s secondary has a much better understanding of Chris Ash’s defense, allowing the group to communicate at a high level and present different looks.

“I think there might have been challenges with that when you're playing with younger dudes, but when you’re playing with our defense, it's a lot of experience,” said Moore. “Everybody's on the same page. We all move on a string. I know the call, Adon (Shuler) knows the call, so a lot of times me and Adon will work together to see what we're going to present to the quarterback.

“Obviously the two safeties are working together. It's really a whole defense thing. We're all on the same page with what we're trying to disguise and show them.” 

Moore also dove much deeper into his game during the offseason. Players can always get bigger, faster and stronger, but Moore spent significant time developing the mental side of his game.

“A lot of it is formation recognition because we play outside leverage to a lot of our man calls, which most people know,” Moore stated. “When they're doing in-breaking routes, they'll have a tell in the formation, or they'll have a tell in the splits they line up. A lot of it is recognizing the formation and changing my leverage just on that specific play.”

That dedication to film study and preparation helped Moore reach the level he’s at today, including shutting down last year’s Biletnikoff Award winner, Makai Lemon.

Entering the USC game last October, Moore hadn’t played much in the slot, but he embraced the challenge and didn’t let Lemon out of his sight.

Is Moore up for shadowing the best receiver every week? The simple answer is yes.

“It depends on the game plan,” smiled Moore. “I wouldn't say it's a set-in-stone thing because we got good DBs all around the field, but I definitely wouldn't mind that challenge every single week.”

Notre Dame is a week into fall camp, and the boundary has turned into a battle between Moore and receiver Micah Gilbert.

Gilbert has been highlighted by multiple coaches as a player who had a strong summer and he’s now starting to test Moore.

“He does a lot of things well,” Moore said. “His release game is very good, actually. It's really a learning experience going against each other for so long. I'm learning his tendencies and he's learning my tendencies, but also he's switching up some of his tendencies to try to get me to slip up.

“It grows each and every day. He might get me one day and I might get the better of him the next day.” 

Perhaps the most significant change for Moore during the offseason was out of his control.

Mike Mickens left for the Baltimore Ravens, and Aaron Henry replaced him.

Moore admitted it took a few weeks to get used to a new face leading the room, but Henry quickly showed why Marcus Freeman brought him into the program.

“I think he's really invested in helping us become better men,” explained Moore. “That's what's really unique about him. Coach Mickens was too, but some coaches don't care about that as much, don't care about the development side of things. He's always trying to help us be better men. He opens every meeting with a prayer. He’s always keeping us centered and focused.” 

That focus will be important as Notre Dame looks to manage the season one game at a time, which could be a challenge given how last season ended. Moore understands it takes time to get where the Irish want to go, and they aren’t getting there in one game.

“Every team thinks they're capable of making a playoff run, especially at the beginning of the year,” said Moore. “No team is going to say they don't have that aspiration, but it's a team that has that goal in mind.

“We're also focused on now. I think that's what's so special about this team. We're not gonna take any days for granted. We're gonna go out there every day and get better.” 

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