After one of Notre Dame’s practices last week, defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman was available for a general media session for the first time in four months. As usual, Freeman proved to be a compelling listen from multiple angles. Whether he talked about personnel, defensive philosophy, life adjustments, or mentoring, it was all great insight into who he is as a coach and how he approaches his job. One note in particular that jumped out for us was something he had to say about cornerbacks coach Mike Mickens and his charges, as highlighted in this post on IrishSportsDaily by our old friend Jamie Uyeyama:

Yeah, if they’re anything like Mickens, they’re going to be like that. That’s who Mick is, and I was just laughing with Elston in the locker room like, ‘God, I bet he was hard to coach.’ And he said, ‘Yeah, he sure was. I coached him [at Cincinnati].’ But that’s his mentality. He’s just an aggressive dude. He’s energetic. He pushes those guys. They talk about the creed in the corners room, and the No. 3 creed. [Players will ask] ‘Coach Free, what’s No. 3 of the Creed? Be violent.’ So that hopefully answers your question on do I think our corners are going to be able to be aggressive and play man? Absolutely.

Why? Because I think they’re unbelievably talented, but they’ve got a corner’s coach who has that same mentality. I can see it and they’ve been doing it.

I just know (Creed) No. 3.

That got us wondering what the other points of the Cornerback’s Creed might be. Now, we’ve only seen Mickens coach up close for one season, and he’s had very little (or no?) media availability since he was hired in the 2019-20 offseason. All we can really do then is fill in the blanks based on what we see from the cornerbacks themselves, not just at Notre Dame but across college football and even the NFL. Working backwards from what we’ve all seen, we offer you…

The complete 18 Stripes Cornerback’s Creed

#1 – Always be the chirpiest guy on the field.

Our resident defensive analyst/linebacker emeritus/grizzly wrangler, Larz, proclaimed that this is “the defining feature of DBs, freaking bantam roosters.” That’s too good not to include here. On his old ESPN morning drive time radio show, former Irish defensive lineman Mike Golic once lamented how guys get chirpier the farther out they get from the ball. There’s consensus across football, it would seem – nobody talks as much as cornerbacks, except maybe receivers.

#2 – Swing your arms “incomplete” no matter the outcome of the play.

These both must have been rough ones in film review. I’m willing to hazard a guess that neither guy toned it down next time though, because, well, this is a creed, man.

#3 – Be violent. (Thanks Coach Mickens!)

Yeah, not a cornerback, but I think fudging to get this gif in the list is OK. #RememberTheSix. No further comment.

#4 – Celebrate ANY positive play that you make as if you just made a game-changing play, regardless of whether or not it actually qualifies as such.

To be fair, I have no idea what Marcus Peters is celebrating here. Also to be fair, he’s probably over-celebrating, because he follows the Creed.

#5 – Never allow a DPI penalty to be called without clear expressions of exasperation and disbelief, or a plea that the receiver pushed off and it should be OPI.

You can see his dejected reaction, the “c’mon man!” body language, when the flag comes out. I mean… How do you argue this with a straight face? Sends him flying with a two-handed shove a full stride before the ball gets there, and right in front of the ref. But, as any dedicated football fan knows, no defensive back has ever committed pass interference. Not once.

#6 – Wear your gloves without them strapped.

Go on Rudy.

#7 – Remind all receivers daily that you’re faster than them.


Any excuse to post this is a good excuse.

#8 – Do not wait for the outcome of the play to do a jumping into each other’s backs celebration with your fellow DBs.

So, the outcome of the play obviously was determined already here, but you tell me the search term that can find the right kind of image. I’ll wait. Also, Bubba Bolden tore up his knee on this celebration and missed the rest of the year.

#9 – Aggressively argue, shake your head in disbelief/disgust and pretend that the jumbotron replay exonerates you from any targeting foul, even after video review and even if the WRs head is still rolling away downfield after a helmet to helmet hit.

I’m gonna be honest with you, this wasn’t a fun gif to search for. This is the closest thing I could find to anyone celebrating targeting (overlap with #2!), and I couldn’t find anything at all of a corner getting flagged for it and arguing. But we’ve all seen it, right? Anyway, I only have so much stomach for looking at people getting their brains scrambled.

#10 – As a recruit, add at least 2″ to get your listed height.

This is Rams corner Jalen Ramsey and Cardinals receiver Christian Kirk. Ramsey is listed at 6’1″, Kirk is listed at 5’11”. Ramsey might have him by a little bit, not two full inches though. But you be the judge.

#11 – When facing a big running back, jump on the pile after he has been tackled and then jump off first and flex, to show everyone that you just laid that guy out.

This kid is elite cornerback material. Always be practicing.

#12 – Dramatically collapse and pound the turf and/or look at your hands as if they are independent of your ability to catch the ball when you drop a sure interception.

via Gfycat

DAGNABBITSASSFRISSINWRASSLEFLOOTINTARNATION.

There’s a reason you’re not a receiver, buddy.