Much like National Signing Day now in February at Notre Dame, the official university announcement today of John McNulty as the new Fighting Irish tight ends coach and Mike Mickens as the cornerbacks coach is anticlimactic.
The final approval by the school's human resources was made official today, three days before the start of spring practice this Thursday (March 5).
McNulty takes the place of 2017-19 offensive coordinator Chip Long (now an analyst at the University of Tennessee) who also was the offensive coordinator during that time. The new coordinator is fourth-year quarterbacks coach Tommy Rees, with second-year running backs coach Lance Taylor the run-game coordinator.
Mickens replaces Todd Lyght, who served his alma mater since 2015 before opting to move to California this winter.
“John and Mike bring a wealth of experience to our football program as players, coaches and educators,” Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said in a school press release. “John’s decades of experience at the college and pro level will add to our offensive staff.
"Mike has shown an incredible ability to get the most out of his players and I am excited to add him to our staff. Both are the perfect additions to help us continue graduating champions.”
“My family and I are honored and thrilled to join the great tradition and pursuit of academic and athletic excellence that is the mission here at Notre Dame,” McNulty said through the school. “Coach Kelly has made it clear about his vision for this program to continue to evolve and be successful on and off the field.
"That vision has been successful everywhere Coach Kelly has been and I’m excited to join his staff as we continue that standard of excellence at Notre Dame.”
A walk-on at Penn State from 1988-90, McNulty actually has more coordinator experience than both Rees and Taylor, serving in that capacity twice at Rutgers, first in 2007-08 under Greg Schiano when the Scarlet Knights ascended to Top 25 status and then in 2018 and the first five games of 2019.
Most of McNulty’s career actually has involved mentoring quarterbacks and wide receivers, and his lone experience exclusively as a tight ends coach was with the NFL’s San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers in 2016-17, where he worked with future NFL Hall of Fame member Antonio Gates.
Although the Notre Dame unit lost junior Cole Kmet, who turned pro early and is projected as a potential first round pick, it welcomes back a strong blend of experience and youth.
As a sophomore last year often used in double tight end alignments, Tommy Tremble (6-3, 235) snatched 16 passes for 183 yards and four touchdowns, numbers that eclipsed Kmet’s 15 for 162 yards and no scores when he was a sophomore in 2018.
Senior Brock Wright (6-4 ½, 246) was a Top 50-recruit three years ago and has been a regular in the lineup, while junior George Takacs (6-6, 247) who caught a touchdown pass in the win at Duke last year, provides quality depth.
Furthermore, the Fighting Irish welcome the nation’s top tandem at the position this year in 6-5, 234-pound Michael Mayer and 6-4, 226-pound Kevin Bauman.
Mayer’s No. 34 overall national ranking by Rivals is the highest by a Notre Dame tight end recruit since Kyle Rudolph was No. 20 in 2008, while four-star Bauman is No. 129.
The full coaching background on McNulty could be found in a Blueandgold.com feature from more than a month ago.
The 32-year-old Mickens, meanwhile will be coaching a young unit, but that has been a specialty of his.
“I was drawn to Notre Dame because of the competitiveness on and off the field,” Mickens said. “The high standard and tradition makes you want to be a part of something special here. Having played for Coach Kelly, I know firsthand that he’s always striving to bring out the best in each student-athlete and I’m excited to be a part of that process."
A semifinalist for the 2008 Jim Thorpe Award as the nation’s top defensive back, Mickens earned All-America notice as a junior and senior at the University Cincinnati in 2007-08, finishing with 234 career tackles while setting new school career records in interceptions (14) and return yardage (296, three of them touchdowns).
Most recently at his alma mater and under head coach Luke Fickell, Mickens as the cornerbacks coach saw the Bearcats post back-to-back 11-win seasons in 2018-19, finishing No. 24 (2018) and No. 21 (2019) in the Associated Press poll.
It was the first time the Bearcats had consecutive top-25 finishes since … when Kelly was the coach in 2007 (17th), 2008 (17th) and 2009 (4th).
During the past two years Mickens was a valued cog on the field in two ways.
The first was the Bearcats finishing No. 13 nationally in pass efficiency defense in 2018 and No. 15 this past season. Notre Dame was quite proficient itself with No. 6 and No. 5 rankings in that category, respectively.
The second came on the recruiting trail — where the Irish need an upgrade — and particularly his work with underclassmen. The Dayton, Ohio native signed a trio of cornerbacks this past cycle to supplement a Bearcats haul that has been hailed as the best in school history.
A year earlier from Detroit, Mickens inked Ahmad Gardner — who this past season joined Notre Dame’s Kyle Hamilton as a first-team Freshman All-American on various outlets. Furthermore, Gardner was a third-team Pro Football Focus All-American. PFF graded out Gardner as the nation’s sixth best corner, regardless of class, highlighted by a 90.0 coverage grade.
Five years earlier (2014) under head coach Dino Babers at Bowling Green State, Mickens instructed a pair of freshman corners, Nick Johnson and Clint Stephens, who nabbed five and four interceptions respectively while helping the Falcons to the MAC East title, and a repeat in 2015 with a 10-3 record that helped Babers land the head coaching position at Syracuse.
A vital factor in Mickens’ history with youth is that at Notre Dame in 2020, six of the eight cornerbacks he is instructing will have four years of eligibility remaining, with sixth-year senior Shaun Crawford and junior TaRiq Bracy the exceptions.
Last year the Irish redshirted its three freshman corners that featured Cam Hart — who made the switch from receiver during the season — K.J. Wallace and Isaiah Rutherford.
This year the trio that signed is comprised of Clarence Lewis, Ramon Henderson and Caleb Offord — and the latter two enrolled early, meaning they were on the field when spring practice commenced March 5.
No single position group at Notre Dame enters the upcoming campaign with more question marks than cornerback, which makes it “the hot corner” in 2020.
After playing professionally a couple of seasons before injuries derailed his career, Mickens joined the Cincinnati staff in 2011 as a defensive assistant before moving to Indiana State (2012), Idaho (2013) and then Bowling Green, where he settled in under Babers and remained through the 2017 campaign.
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