SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Granted, Leonard Moore hasn’t had the chance to see projected 2025 first-round NFL draft pick and position mentor, junior cornerback Benjamin Morrison, at full health yet since enrolling at Notre Dame in June.
But from what the freshman cornerback from Round Rock, Texas, has been able to take in so far, fellow June-enrolling newcomer James Rendell may have impressed him the most this summer.
As in ND’s 6-foot-6, 24-year-old import punter from Melbourne, Australia.
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“That has been crazy,” Moore told reporters during a recent interview session with ND’s newest wave of players. “We saw him boom one in practice, and I was like, ‘Dang, he can punt. That’s wild.’
“Like 80 yards. That’s what it was looking like. He’s going to be pinning them, Australian style. I can definitely see him coming here and making a huge impact.
“He just came in here, and he’s doing what he needs to do and doing what they brought him here to do. That’s inspiring to me. If I take care of my business, I can get to that elite level.”
The Irish coaching staff is kind of counting on that from him and fellow June-enrolling freshman corner Karson Hobbs, the latter of whom is now training primarily at nickel.
Notre Dame lost three cornerbacks to the transfer portal this offseason — Ryan Barnes (UMass), Clarence Lewis (Syracuse) and Micah Bell (Vanderbilt) — and Cam Hart to the NFL Draft. The Irish kicked the tires on Rice transfer Tre’Shon Devones in May, but with tight scholarship numbers and optimism over the readiness of Moore and Hobbs, they opted to pass on adding to the position group through the transfer portal.
That leaves Morrison, junior Jaden Mickey, sophomore Christian Gray, heretofore seldom-used senior Chance Tucker and Moore to stock the two outside cornerback positions, with Morrison’s complete recovery expected in mid-August.
Notre Dame’s 2024 season opener is set for Aug. 31, with players set to report for training camp July 30 and the first official practice of camp slated for July 31. That when defensive backs coach Mike Mickens can amp up his influence.
Until then, it’s lots of weight-room work with first-year director of football performance Loren Landow, film review, and informal player-led practices without pads.
“Right now a typical day would be 6:15 [a.m.] — the freshmen have the early lift,” Moore said. “We’re doing power-clean, bench, front squat. Just nail that technique down. We’re not doing a lot of heavy weight right now. And then we’ll come out on the field and do an acceleration circuit. We’ll use like [resistance] bands and stuff like that.
“I’ve noticed he [Landow] is not completely breaking your body down. He’s trying to do the right things to help you actually get faster. Obviously, we’re football players. We’re not bodybuilders. We’re trying to build the right muscles that will help us be more explosive and compete on the football field.”
Moore’s place on the field at this point is being an understudy to Morrison and Gray at the boundary corner position. But Gray may start opposite Morrison at the field side if the latter is healthy and Gray beats out Mickey.
Which, in turn, adds urgency to the 6-foot-1, 187-pound Moore’s evolution at a position with which he is very familiar from his high school days.
“I’m trying to learn [Morrison’s] understanding of the game as well as his technique,” Moore said, “because being at the boundary corner, you can narrow the routes down just based on formation, where the receivers are lining up. I’m trying to learn that next level of the game from him, so I can elevate my game.
“Just watching Notre Dame the past few years, coach Mickens has shown that if you’re working hard and you’re doing what needs to be done in practice, he’ll put you on the field regardless [of how young] you are. Especially seeing B-Mo as a freshman going out there and do his thing.
“So, that’s been super helpful to me. Having that mindset I’m going to take care of my business and I’m going to try to get on the field.”
Notre Dame returns the No. 1 pass-efficiency defense in the nation, the first time the Irish have ever won that national statistical title. The Irish were fifth in total defense and seventh in scoring defense in 2023.
“Definitely the whole team has been super inviting,” Moore said. The DB room specifically has given me confidence. They all told me of their first experiences here and how I’m going to grow with them and they’re going to teach me and that I’m going to eventually be at their level one day.
“The coaches have been amazing. [G.M.] Chad [Bowden] and [head coach] Marcus [Freeman], they were not lying when they said what the culture was like here. I’ve been invited to this team and I’ve been brought in just like I was family.
“Even when I was new, B-Mo, J-Mick and Christian have welcomed me into the DB room as well as all the coaches. It’s definitely been inviting. It makes me want to work harder.”
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