How Notre Dame made it through the season mainly relying on two cornerbacks
Many Notre Dame position groups played games of musical chairs this year.
Quarterback? Three players put forth meaningful contributions. Safety? Try having to replace the player many regard as the best in the country at his position when All-American Kyle Hamilton was lost for the final five games. Running back? A true freshman carried a large share of the load when sophomore Chris Tyree went down with turf toe.
The wide receiver room whittled down to thin numbers due to injuries, Xavier Watts' position swap to safety and Lawrence Keys' entrance into the transfer portal. Just another example of the Notre Dame coaching staff having to make adjustments on the fly with personnel.
At cornerback, though? Irish coaches knew what they had all year.
Then-defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman and cornerbacks coach Mike Mickens kept calling the same two numbers all season without having to request reinforcements often. Junior Cam Hart and sophomore Clarence Lewis held it down on the outside for the Notre Dame defense.
Lewis played the most snaps (757) of any Notre Dame defensive player. Hart played the third most with 656. Hart was spelled by senior TaRiq Bracy at times. Bracy played 419 snaps this season with 141 of those coming out wide as a corner. Lewis was rarely replaced.
Notre Dame knew it didn't have many options other than that trio at corner going into the season. If Hart or Lewis didn't perform up to standard, only underclassmen (freshmen Philip Riley, Ryan Barnes, Chance Tucker and JoJo Johnson and sophomore Ramon Henderson) were waiting in the wings to take their spots. Bracy was never really a full-time replacement option for Lewis or Hart because the staff valued what he provided as a nickel corner so much.
Lewis is an underclassmen himself, but not an ordinary one. He started six games as a true freshman in 2020, and he took Bracy's spot to earn most of those starts. Hart showed flashes of what he could do with his long 6-3 frame as a first-year corner in the same season.
Together in 2021, No. 5 and No. 6 became a 1-2 punch at the position.
“As long as they practice and be consistent in who they are and what they do, they're going to get an opportunity to play,” Mickens said. “And they knew that going in.”
“He's just a consistent guy,” Mickens added about Lewis. “You know what you're going to get from Clarence every day. He's quiet, but he's a leader by action. He's going to practice hard. He's going to play hard, compete hard. He's physical.”
Hart, meanwhile, led the team with seven pass breakups. He came away with the first two interceptions of his career in the win over Wisconsin at Soldier Field on Sept. 25. He hasn't picked any passes off since, but he understands growth and improvement at corner doesn't always come with flashy statistics.
Sometimes the less a corner is talked about, the better.
It wasn't a perfect season for Hart. He knows that. He said he needs to get better at playing with a more consistent pad level, getting in and out of breaks and tackling. But he did have a good enough season to force Henderson, widely considered one of the most talented young defensive players on the roster, to make a position switch to safety.
If Hart wasn't getting the job done at the boundary spot, Mickens would have had no issues replacing him with Henderson. But Hart was sound enough in all areas to keep playing. Now, it's about progressing even further with one year of ball at Notre Dame surely on tap and another sitting there if he wants to take the NCAA up on last season's COVID waiver.
Same goes for Lewis. He'll be a junior next year. He could bolt for the NFL if he's ready, but 5-11 corners aren't really the flavor of the times at the next level right now. He could stand to improve upon his tackling as well, and his speed might not be NFL worthy. At Notre Dame, though, he has proven to be a valuable asset.
Lewis and Hart actually switched positions midway through the year, with the former going to boundary and the latter going to the field side. Mickens said it was nothing more than wanting to switch things up. He knew those were still his two best options on the outside. He just wanted to see what they looked like in opposite roles.
It worked.
Notre Dame didn't allow an opponent to pass for more than 196 yards in the final four games of the regular season. Navy only attempted three passes, but the Irish's last three opponents actually put the ball in the air quite a bit — an average of 29 times per game. Less than 60% of those passes were completed for an average of 154.7 yards per game.
Notre Dame only gave up two passing touchdowns over the course of the final seven games of the regular season. Lewis and Hart were key contributors in that statistic. They are known commodities now. Fiesta Bowl practices, therefore, have been spent largely preparing the younger players in their shadows for when their roles might mirror those of Lewis and Hart's current ones in the near future.
Lewis and Hart were in their shoes not long ago, after all.
“You treat the first part of bowl practices as a way to get these younger guys even more exposure before they get to spring ball,” Mickens said. “That's what these first six have been. Now we're getting into more Oklahoma State but still a lot of structure for these young guys.”
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