Cam Hart’s Emergence Giving Notre Dame A Sense Of Direction At Cornerback
If Notre Dame wanted to avoid resorting to the transfer portal to find a starting boundary cornerback for the second straight year, it would need to see signs of an impending emergence from anonymity.
Clarence Lewis is set at the field corner spot. Senior TaRiq Bracy is the cornerback room’s most experienced player, but he’s best suited for the field or slot. That leaves seven other scholarship corners and their combined 113 college snaps to fill the boundary role vacated by Nick McCloud, who Notre Dame took as a grad transfer last May to shore up a similarly unsettled situation.
In many ways, Notre Dame needed someone to emerge from unknown status and filch a starting job like Lewis did as a freshman last year. The Irish coaching staff identified the internal candidate best suited for the job and threw him in with the first team. A now or never opportunity. Fifteen practices to make a case he’s the answer at a position with loads of questions.
Cam Hart appears to have met the moment.
Nothing is set, but Hart has impressed and positioned himself to be Notre Dame’s starter at boundary corner. The coaches’ comments this spring convey comfort with him as a capable in-house solution. That’s not to say the chances of a transfer addition are zero, but getting portal help seems less necessary now.
Hart has taken most of the first-team reps at the boundary spot. Head coach Brian Kelly singled him out as a standout earlier this spring without being asked about him. Saturday, he lauded Hart’s development again.
“A lot of this is a combination of technique and being much more of an aggressive mindset instead of reactive, defensive mindset,” Kelly said. “That’s coming together with Cam. He’s got the skills, has length. He’s one of our strongest, if not our strongest defensive back.”
There’s little doubt of Hart’s physical readiness for the role. He’s a 6-3, 207-pound converted receiver. Two years in a college weight program have transformed him from a high schooler built like a table leg into a corner with a like-for-like frame to many outside receivers. He began his Notre Dame career in 2019 as a receiver, but with an understanding that might not be his long-term home.
“It started when I was a freshman and coach [Clark] Lea came to me saying he was excited about moving me over to DB,” Hart said. “I was expecting that. When I was getting recruited, they’re always talking to me about playing DB, playing receiver or me switching.”
The move was made in October 2019, but progress stalled soon after when he sustained a season-ending shoulder injury. The cancellation of 2020 spring drills after one practice never gave him or anyone else in the glut of young corners a chance to challenge for a meaningful role.
Unenthused about entering an abnormal fall camp with so many unknowns, Notre Dame plucked McCloud from the portal and slid him into a starting job. He barely left his post. Hart was his backup, but played only 88 snaps. Most of that work came in garbage time. McCloud’s every-down role, lingering shoulder issues and a two-week period in contact tracing (per Kelly last fall) offered little opportunity for Hart to find some rhythm.
Now the restraints are off — literally, in one case.
“Coming into this season, I’ve rehabbed, felt more comfortable not using the [shoulder] brace, not being restricted,” Hart said. “It has enhanced my game a lot. I feel a lot more comfortable tackling, defeating blocks, things of that sort.”
Hart’s frame and physicality should serve him well in first-year defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman’s scheme, which will put corners in man coverage most of the time. His receiver background and the ball skills that come with it could give the boundary corner spot something it has lacked since Julian Love last manned it: plays on the ball and takeaways.
Love had 20 passes broken up and three interceptions in 2017, then followed it with 16 breakups and an interception in 2018. McCloud and 2019 boundary starter Troy Pride Jr. combined for 14 deflected passes and two interceptions (McCloud swatted away a team-high eight passes last year). Notre Dame has only 16 interceptions since the start of 2019 and hasn’t ranked higher than 81st in picks per game each of the last two years.
“What we’ll continue to build on is he will continue to get stronger, continue to work on technique and his mindset: ‘Go get the ball. It’s yours,’” Kelly said. “He’s going to be in a plus matchup physically with a lot of guys he goes against. We’re making great progress there.”
Progress that ought to give Notre Dame a sense of direction at a position needing a rudder.
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