Hopefully you enjoyed our overview of the 2022 Notre Dame recruiting class with recruit grades and some thoughts on the class. We started a deeper dive into position groups with a look at the offensive skill positions, then moved on to the offensive line, then the defensive line (plus the punter, because he has to go somewhere), then the linebackers. Today we’re closing the loop with the defensive backs. Landing elite safety Xavier Nwankpa, who instead chose to stay home at Iowa, would’ve taken this group up a few levels, but the staff recovered nicely by landing Northwestern transfer and former consensus All-American Brandon Joseph. The youngsters have plenty of promise too, and two of them – Jaden Mickey and Jayden Bellamy – have already enrolled and will hopefully make some noise this spring.

As a reminder, here’s our standard grading scale for this exercise:

95-100: Truly elite prospect with All-American potential
90-94: Multi-year starter with All-conference level potential
85-89: Eventual starter with chance to play as underclassman
80-84: Raw prospect with decent potential but a couple years away from impact
75-79: Likely a backup
70-74: Reach by the coaching staff

Signees

247C 18S Grade Player City/State Ht/Wt Position Stars
0.9300 90 Brandon Joseph College Station, TX 6-1/185 S * * * * *
0.9164 91 Jaden Mickey Corona, CA 5-11.5/175 CB * * * *
0.8958 86 Benjamin Morrison Phoenix, AZ 6-0/175 CB * * * *
0.8830 83 Jayden Bellamy Oradell, NJ 5-11/175 CB * * *

S Brandon Joseph

18S Average: 89.7

Brendan: 90

The Northwestern transfer was a consensus All-American as a redshirt freshman in 2020 before taking a bit of a step back, particularly against the run, last season. Still, he has two things that Notre Dame’s 2022 secondary is very short on: experience and ball production. He was a two-season starter for the Wildcats and logged nine interceptions in 21 games across those two seasons. He’s virtually a lock to start for Notre Dame; his addition was of vital importance to possibly the thinnest postion group on the team.

Eric: 89

I like a couple of his punt returns from this past year because they flash really good athleticism. The amount of interceptions in his career I think is a little flukey but credit for him being in the right spot to take advantage of some bad bounces from the offense. With better coaching I’m banking his tackling improves and I can see him being a big weapon as a blitzer if he gets that tackling a little better. Overall, he should be a quality starter.

Tyler: 90

His tackling in 2021 left a bit to be desired, but his 2020 performance and the havoc he caused cannot be overlooked. I’m betting a new system with more talent around him will work wonders for Brandon and we’ll see a performance closer to his 2020 All American year than this past season.

CB Jaden Mickey

18S Average: 90.7

Brendan: 90

Really polished and aggressive cover corner. His size makes it tempting to pigeonhole him as a nickel, but his coverage skills are so good that he could be a very effective field corner too. He completely shut down fellow Californian CJ Williams in camps and games – and he wasn’t shy about reminding CJ of it either. He’s a tremendous athlete with some alpha dog in his personality. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him on the field early.

Eric: 92

With better size Mickey is one of the top-rated corners in the country. He’s put on a lot of good weight but has the frame more of a nickel corner. Fantastic foot speed and ability to back pedal. Really loose hips and quick to plant and make a play on the ball. Flashed really good ball skills and production at one of the top levels of high school football. With enough strength he’s a future No. 1 outside corner at Notre Dame.

Tyler: 90

Among the best corner prospects Notre Dame has landed in years. Ideal athletic profile to play either field corner or nickel. When Mater Dei and Centennial played earlier in the year, CJ Williams was held to one catch for two yards. Mickey played a big part in that.

CB Benjamin Morrison

18S Average: 86.3

Brendan: 89

Morrison looks so smooth and comfortable in his backpedal and flipping his hips in coverage – it seems like he can do it without slowing down, which is so key at the next level. His technique is really good. He has very active eyes and outstanding recognition skills, at times looking almost like he teleports to where the play is going. He also looks like a very strong open field tackler. What little press there is on his highlight reel is done very well. I think he may be the first of the three freshman defensive backs to see the field.

Eric: 84

Morrison has a nice combination of size and skill. He looks a little bigger than his listed weight and tackles really well in the open field. A bit of a glider when he runs with good sideline speed. Didn’t play a lot of press coverage in high school which I would’ve liked to see more from him. I don’t love his footspeed, which like many defensive back prospects I look at, makes me think he’s more suited for safety. He looks like a great culture fit for the program and I think he’ll develop a lot more than what we can see in high school.

Tyler: 86

Morrison is a good athlete with decent size to play corner. He looks to be a bit more technically refined with his footwork than most guys coming out of high school. He seems to have good instincts and plays physical. A lot to like about his game.

CB Jayden Bellamy

18S Average: 82.7

Brendan: 84

Bellamy is yet another prospect who was a dynamic two-way player in high school. He was Steve Angeli’s best receiver for the last couple of seasons in addition to playing corner and safety on defense; that defensive versatility is a bit of foreshadowing, as he could land at either spot for the Irish as well. He’s a little undersized for safety at 5’11″/175, but he’s so good at diagnosing and tracking the ball and he’s a fearless tackler, so I could see him there. After all, Alohi Gilman was a little undersized too and he turned out just fine… If he does stick at corner I could see him being productive there too. A lot will hinge on how he develops physically in a college strength program.

Eric: 82

Quick to attack the football in the air. Good overall athlete with nice longer speed. Shows a nice back pedal whenever he uses the technique. Under-sized to play safety in college coming out of high school but has a lot of really enticing safety skills. Plays a lot more physical than his listed weight which is great. A bit of a tweener for me who I like more at safety so we’ll see how he develops in the weight room.

Tyler: 82

If he were bigger he’d be a blue-chip safety prospect, but Jayden has a slight frame that makes me wonder if he’ll be another Tariq Bracy type body in the secondary. A good player, but may struggle physically adjusting to the college game until he can add some weight.