Today we are previewing the defensive backs ahead of spring practice. This group is one of the few on the roster to keep their position coaches as Mike Mickens (Corner) and Chris O’Leary (Safety) lead a veteran group who added a key Transfer Portal addition this off-season but are bracing for a life forever without one of the most sought after NFL prospects in modern Notre Dame history.
Predicted 2022 Lineup
*Official 2022 roster size
1ST-TEAM
CB Cam Hart, r-JR, 6-2 1/2, 205*
FS Brandon Joseph, r-JR, 6-1, 192*
SS Houston Griffith, 5th SR, 6-0 1/, 202*
CB Clarence Lewis, JR, 5-11 1/2, 193*
NICK Tariq Bracy, 5th SR, 5-10 1/8, 177*
2ND-TEAM
CB Ryan Barnes, r-FR, 6-1 7/8, 187*
FS DJ Brown, 5th SR, 6-0 3/8, 200*
SS Xavier Watts, r-SO, 5-11 3/4, 195*
CB Philip Riley, r-FR, 5-11 1/2, 202*
NICK Jaden Mickey, FR, 5-11 1/2, 176*
Reserves:
FS Ramon Henderson, r-SO, 6-1, 190*
SS Justin Walters, r-FR, 6-0 5/8, 188*
CB Chance Tucker, r-FR, 5-11 3/4, 183*
CB Benjamin Morrison, FR, 6-0 1/2, 175
CB Jayden Bellamy, FR, 5-11, 170*
3 Questions
1) Can a star emerge from somewhere in this defensive backfield?
Kyle Hamilton was able to single-handily paper over so many cracks in the defensive backfield in his 2.5 years on the field for the Fighting Irish. He was a testament to how big of an impact just one great defensive back can have in the college game. For a while, it appeared Notre Dame was successfully moving on without the injured Hamilton to finish 2021 then the second half of the bowl game left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth.
Most eyes will be focused on 2 players this spring:
Cam Hart – A rare big corner who doesn’t look out of place due to a lack of speed, quickly flashed his potential early in 2021, and most importantly held on the entire season for an impressive first year of starting with frankly amazing consistency. It doesn’t feel like he’s entering his 4th year in the program but he’s potentially someone who is good enough to play himself into a quality NFL Draft position in the spring of 2023.
Brandon Joseph – For some outsiders, and maybe other Notre Dame fans who aren’t paying super close attention, Joseph is an off-season arrival from the Portal who could make a massive impact in the secondary. A closer inspection of his play showed that while he’s athletic and generally very good in coverage there were weak spots to his run stopping and tackling abilities. Perhaps we are gun shy after the Cain Madden hype last off-season but Joseph is more likely to be a solid starter than a rising star and we should know a lot more once spring practice begins.
2) How much of a role will some of the mixed bag veterans play versus rising youngsters looking to make mark?
I have Houston Griffith tentatively penciled in as one of the starting safeties although I have doubts about his ability to hang on to that spot. He was convinced to leave the Portal last year, surprised some by coming back for 2022 and has just 71 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 3 PBU’s, and 2 quarterback hurries across 4 seasons on the field. Griffith has yet to notch an interception and has not broken up a pass over his last 29 games.
We’re not even sure that Tariq Bracy is returning for 2022 as he hasn’t officially declared it anywhere so perhaps he’s looking for a graduate transfer and graceful exit this summer.
It seemed like a coin flip whether DJ Brown was going to come back, as well. He’s been okay-to-solid for most of his career but hasn’t brought any major playmaking ability.
Now, Clarence Lewis is a veteran and is coming off a sophomore slump accentuated by a brutal bullying from Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl.
Conservatively, let’s say 2 out of these 4 players mentioned above are playing serious minutes while 2 others do not. Who steps up into that vacuum of playing time?
3) Can the defense get comfortable playing 5, or dare I say 6, different defensive backs without feeling like there’s a drop-off?
This is where the return of Bracy feels absolutely crucial for 2022. If he’s not with the team there’s really no cornerback with experience at the nickel and I’m not sure Freeman used 3 safeties on the field at the same time a bunch last year.
We should be prepared for all of the listed 2nd-team players listed above as well as Ramon Henderson and Justin Walters to be involved heavily during the spring. Especially Henderson, he was used a lot during the bowl game and is probably on schedule to play a decent amount this fall.
Taking a look at things Barnes, Watts, Riley, and Mickey are definitely players to keep an eye on when camp opens. I’m particularly partial to Mickey who I think could challenge immediately as an impact nickel.
Overview
The defensive backfield is probably the most intriguing position group on the entire team. A lot of that has to do with most other positions being settled by returning starters. While you could argue the same is true for the DB’s I’m not sure anyone is really on the board in sharpie as a starter besides Hart and maybe Joseph.
Selfishly for our entertainment, I hope this is an exciting spring full of numerous positional battles. There are potentially a lot of moving pieces as the sport continues to rely more heavily on defensive backs to control the pass-heavy offenses littered across the country.
One thing I’m curious to see is how Al Golden A) Views all of these defensive backs and their skill levels and B) How much different he views using these players within the whole of the system. After initially believing this would heavily be a Marcus Freeman defense he opened the door to Golden having a much larger say which could trickle down to things like playing less press coverage.
I think if Joseph was better against the run, there would be a legitimate chance that Henderson could see more snaps than Griffith this year. Neither guy was spectacular in 2021, but Henderson’s speed can cover up some major flaws. Unfortunately I’m not sure you can play both him and Joseph at the same time on anything other than 3rd and long, sure passing situations.
Is Henderson staying at safety a foregone conclusion? I would rather see him with an opportunity at CB as opposed to trotting out Lewis.
Assuming we don’t get a starter-level grad transfer corner to save the day, they need to be spending all spring at least hinting to Bracy that he’ll be a starting corner in the 2 CB sets. Him being on the roster next fall is crucial (again, absent a deus ex portal situation)
Is it? I thought Lewis was mostly fine, besides obviously the bowl game. Not sure that Tariq Bracy brings anything that Lewis wouldn’t over the course of a season.
I get where Bracy helps as depth and experience if he’s the nickel. I’m not sure he’s an upgrade on the outside, being as the reason he was moved to nickel in the first place is that he didn’t hold up and Lewis was a better option that presumably showcased that.
Also, Hart has played better as the field corner and they would need a boundary, IIRC. With size concerns that’s probably not the spot for Bracy.
Heck, I’d rather give a shot with Riley, Barnes or Mickey at this point over Bracy on the outside. Just to see what they go. Maybe one could have a “Julian Love freshman” type season and give something more than Lewis.
(That said, I totally agree the ideal scenario is adding a Cody Riggs/Nick McCloud grad transfer to actually upgrade the position in general.)
I think we don’t actually disagree much. I’m basically saying the coaches should say anything to keep him on the roster (again, absent a starter-level grad transfer), and then if he struggles initially in the fall then just move him to nickel full-time if need be. Risking having him get beaten up against Ohio State at the benefit of keeping him is worth it, because likely any second corner is going to get beaten up against Ohio State anyways. And then he’s on the roster at that point.
Ah, gotcha, I can understand that and see what you’re saying. Surely for depth and experience having Bracy is better than not having him. Lewis/Bracy is just so meh, almost would rather see some of the new blood get time just to see if they can be better. Can’t imagine they would be much worse (famous last words, probably).
From the combine, it sounds like Austin helped himself.
Any thoughts on Kyren? His 40 time wasn’t great (4.67) and his vertical (32″) and broad jump (116″) were almost identical to Coan’s (33″/115″). I can’t imagine this helped his case.
I thought I saw Hamilton run a 4.59. Seems like that might hurt his stock too.
Yep, but I think that was just outside expectations hyping him to huge levels. Were people really expecting a 6’4, 220 to run a 4.3 or 4.4? (Also I don’t know sprinting technique at all, but just from watching some of the others, Kyle looked terrible in that regard. He got vertical and he seemed stiff. I wasn’t impressed by his form at all.)
Also I saw somewhere Ed Reed ran a 4.57 (not even sure if true but I saw it). If you’re an NFL team, I think the tape is all you need for Kyle. He isn’t a track athlete and didn’t pop like some do at that event, but I really don’t make too much of it. I would assume he will work out for teams and maybe run it again, even at pro day? Perhaps he can do better if there are any concerns, but I can’t imagine why there would be.
All of Hamilton’s jumps and such were among the best of the safeties and seemed to profile well with the other elite current NFL safeties, just the 40 stands out a little.
yea I don’t know what was expected but if he ran a low 4.5 or even cracked 4.5 he may have cracked top 7, maybe even top 5. But with this time is middle of the 1st round more realistic?
I don’t really see why they would over-react that much to a 40 time alone, since his jumping and other tests were all very good. But who is to say, it would probably be tough to get picked top-5 as a safety anyways. I would still certainly think Hamilton is a top-10 post-combine.
Jeff Okudah “only” had a 4.48 as a CB and still was picked 3rd overall, 40 time is important but clearly not the only thing. If you’re picking like 3-7 and really like Hamilton, I don’t know why a 4.59 changes 25 games of video and everything else he has going for him because he didn’t run a “low 4.5” or something.
Yea I think it’s more that if he did well he could have moved up, but he didn’t do well so he’ll be more on the lower end of the projected range. So Yes I agree a top 5 safety would be tough – but he might have had a chance if he broke 4.5. But almost certainly has no chance at top 5 given his 40 time.
I’m not as pessimistic, I don’t think his chances of getting picked in the top 5 have changed that much. If you liked Hamilton and are picking 4th or 5th, I really doubt for such a big decision is changing based on a slightly underwhelming 40 at the combine. That wouldn’t be very logical decision making.
I.e., CBS Sports still has him ranked the 3rd best prospect overall and mocked him 6th overall in a post-combine draft. I don’t think his stock really tanked by any means. (However, it’s possible top-5 as a safety wasn’t in the cards, but it’s not the 40 yard dash time that did that).
https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/news/2022-nfl-mock-draft-titans-target-qb-browns-take-big-riser-after-combine-ol-and-edge-rushers-dominate/
I also think there’s a pretty good chance Hamilton improves on that 40 time. He was hurt for so much of the season and is only just fully rounding into 100% health over the past couple of months. While other guys were prepping for combine drills, Hamilton was still doing some rehab work. I wouldn’t be shocked to see a decent improvement in his time at the ND pro day.
All his testing was low-end, sad to say. But I mean, there are track athletes and their are football players, and we all know what category Kyren is in. Hope it doesn’t ding him too much, but really good RBs go undrafted all the time, so who knows what his immediate future holds.
Everyone was fawning over Austin, and he is quite the specimen. I wish him well but have a feeling this is about his peak since he’s so raw and was a non-factor against Sauce Gardner. What happens to him in the NFL where like everyone is that good?
https://twitter.com/MathBomb/status/1500139524847980544
Looking at the RAS for Austin and for Williams couldn’t be more different. I felt Austin was an OK receiver and that Williams was an excellent running back at the college level. Crazy to see where their RAS scores landed. Will be interesting to see how their respective careers play out.
I think their relative performances clearly illustrate the shortcomings of the combine as a measure of football ability. It’s weird to me that people are still fooled by it, even those who are paid a great deal of money not to be.
If the sport of football were just a big ol’ combine, Kevin Austin would probably be an All-American. Good on him to perform well and likely earn himself a draft slot, but it wouldn’t shock me if last weekend represents the peak of his pro career, either.
If Houston Griffith is actually starting in the fall, we are in for a rough ride.