SOUTH BEND, Ind. — You’ll know you’re at a Notre Dame football practice when you hear the voice of Jaden Mickey jawing at the offense.
The sophomore cornerback has been known for his penchant for trash talk since he arrived at Notre Dame in January 2022 as an early enrollee out of Corona (Calif.) Centennial. The former four-star recruit didn’t waste any time making his voice heard in spring practices even against veteran players.
A tough freshman season that included playing time in 11 games with one start against USC didn’t quiet Mickey down heading into the 2023 season. He remained a vocal part of preseason practices. It’s all about bringing a competitive spirit for Mickey.
“It’s been fun,” Mickey said. “Anything I can do to help the energy of the team and just be up — we play better when we’re like that.”
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Mickey took his lumps in some unfortunate defensive breakdowns last season for the Irish. He was tasked with playing nickelback at times even though he had much more experience as an outside cornerback in high school.
Pro Football Focus gave Mickey the second-worst coverage grade (49.1) of any Notre Dame defender last season behind only linebacker Jaylen Sneed. According to their analysts, Mickey was targeted in coverage 18 times. Those throws resulted in 14 catches for 244 yards and three touchdowns.
“I learned a lot more about the mental part of the game,” Mickey said of his freshman season. “In high school, it’s always been easy to just go out there and play ball. Now at the next level I’m really learning the film part of it, the mental preparation, keeping your body straight for the game, and all of the things that go into the game that help you.”
The 6-foot, 180-pound Mickey has certainly put in the work off the field to maximize his athleticism. According to The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman, Mickey completed 21 reps of a 225-pound bench press with a max of 380 pounds. He’s also completed 47 consecutive pull-ups and been clocked at 21.74 miles per hour.
Mickey pointed to his bench press as the number he’s most proud of, but he shrugged off the pull-ups accomplishment.
“Yeah, that’s just a result of me being 180 pounds and lifting.” Mickey said.
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The on-field challenge from Notre Dame cornerbacks coach Mike Mickens to Mickey this preseason was to be more consistent.
“Be consistent with his eyes, consistent throughout camp,” Mickens said earlier this month. “He’s had a great camp because of it. I always say be consistently good, not occasionally great. That’s what I challenge all of them with, but I really challenged him.”
Mickey worked to make technical improvements on the smallest details. The dedication paid off as he put himself position to be Notre Dame’s third outside cornerback behind starters Cam Hart and Benjamin Morrison.
“It’s been a blessing having coach Mickens as a coach,” Mickey said. “He believes in all of us. He’s been great developing us and letting us do what we know how to do and also adding things to our game, adding things to our toolbox to ensure we do it the right way.”
During the offseason, Mickey published a book with Circle Square Services titled “The Win Isn’t Always On The Scoreboard.” He wanted to tell stories from his childhood to encourage kids to read and teach them lessons about teamwork and commitment. All the proceeds of the book have been devoted to helping fund his mother’s treatments for stage IV colon cancer.
Mickey said his mother, Nilka, is doing well. The two are in touch on a daily basis. He’s hoping to bring her to campus for the home opener against Tennessee State on Sept. 2 or for the Ohio State game on Sept. 23 at the very latest.
She won’t be making the trip to Ireland for the season opener against Navy on Saturday (2:30 p.m. EDT on NBC). But she’ll be able to watch her son in action against a team that might not pose many challenges in the passing game.
Notre Dame’s cornerbacks will try to stay ready for whatever gets thrown their way.
“You have to be disciplined,” Mickens said. “It goes back to that consistency. If we’re not consistent in our eyes and our reads, it’s over the top on us.”
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