Film Don't Lie | Isaiah Rutherford
Notre Dame is playing great defense right now and Todd Lyght’s starting cornerbacks are playing as good as any pair in the country right now. That’s fun for Notre Dame fans this season and they should be excited about what’s to come at corner in the future too.
The Irish already have one blue-chip cornerback committed in the 2019 class with KJ Wallace and they’ve just added another one in Isaiah Rutherford. They have the potential to be critical pieces to help keep the Notre dame defense at an elite level.
Rutherford is a multi-sport standout (basketball and track) and two-way star on the gridiron for his high school. He’s a unique athlete for his size that has ideal measurements to match up with the taller receivers that defenses have to deal with on a weekly basis.
Height: 6’2”
Weight: 170
Projected Position: Cornerback
ISD Grade: 92 (4-star)
National Average Grade: 91.8 (4-star)
What he does best:
Aside from being tall with long arms, the next thing that jumps out about Rutherford is speed. He looks like a traditional sprinter with his efficient stride. I saw him run stride for stride with the best receiver prospects in the nation at The Opening showing off his long speed and you can see him run away from people as a runner on offense with pads on.
He’s much more than just a straight line track guy, though. He’s a fluid athlete that can drop his hips and explode in a short area. I don’t know if it’s easier because of his experience as a guard in basketball, but he has elite change of direction skills. He reacts really well to double moves.
He checks the boxes as an athlete, but he does a lot of little things well as a corner. It’s about more than having the long speed to run with receivers. He knows how to get into the body of the receiver when the ball is in the air like on this deep ball.
He plays physical in coverage. Rutherford uses his long arms to not only get a jam in press, but finish through at the catch point. That’s a huge point of emphasis with Lyght with his cornerbacks.
He has all the tools be great in man to man. Most of what I have seen from him is that. Man coverage means not as many interception chances, but he tracks the ball well. And he has some ball skills as he showed on this great adjustment.
What he needs to improve:
He is very thin right now and needs to add weight. Obviously getting stronger is part of that too. I don’t think it will be an issue for him going forward with his focus solely on football.
He is a high tackler and at 170, that’s not going to cut it at the college level. Getting stronger will help and lowering his aiming point is going to be important.
With him being so tall, it’s not a surprise that he can sometimes get too high in his backpedal. He’s smooth with his footwork, but will be even better once he gets tighter with his technique.
What’s his ceiling?
I see a lot of similarities with him and current Notre Dame cornerback Troy Pride back when he was a recruit. He too needed to add weight, but was an exciting athlete. We’ve seen him develop under Lyght and become a high-level player for the Irish.
I think Rutherford can do the same. It took Pride some time to become the player he is now and I can see Rutherford ending up on the same track. When he gets where he needs to be physically, I think he has the tools to become a taller version of Pride with the talent to be a multi-year starter that can play the field or boundary corner.