Todd Lyght Asseses Notre Dame's New Defensive Backs, Part II
After striking out at cornerback during the 2017 recruiting cycle, Notre Dame placed a premium on signing at least two and maybe even three in 2018.
Determined to compensate, fourth-year cornerbacks coach Todd Lyght inked four in his position group to complement the three safeties he landed, earning him recognition as one of Rivals’ top 25 recruiters during the 2018 cycle.
The cornerbacks did not receive the same fanfare as the safeties, which were ranked No. 4 nationally by Rivals in their position group. Fortunately, Lyght has seen the 2016 cornerback haul that featured three four-star players develop well, with 2018 All-America candidate Julian Love and Troy Pride Jr. both starting, while fellow four-star recruit Donte Vaughn, who had a strong freshman debut in 2016, is vying for snaps.
This year’s quartet was highlighted by the surprising Signing Day announcement from Washington D.C. four-star Noah Boykin, who appeared destined for either Florida or Virginia. Boykin is the highest ranked cornerback by Rivals (No. 204 nationally overall) to sign with Notre Dame since Shaun Crawford in 2015 (No. 82).
Lyght describes the 6-2, 176-pound Boykin as “a superior athlete with elite ball skills,” complemented by strong technique coaching at H.D. Woodson High School.
In what has become a common thread in this year’s cornerback harvest, Boykin also has starred on offense, catching 500 yards worth in passes as a senior with four touchdowns, plus returning two punts for scores.
Even more prominent on offense were the three-star duo (although four stars in at least one other outlet) of California’s 5-11, 170-pound Tariq Bracy and Florida’s 6-2, 180-pound Joseph Wilkins Jr.
Bracy accumulated 6,450 all-purpose yards at Milpitas High, with 2,042 yards rushing as a senior (8.6 per rush) and 26 touchdowns.
“Coach Kelly was thinking about maybe moving him to offense and try to run the ball a bit, but he’s a talented player we want to keep on the defensive side of the ball and I made that known to Coach [defensive coordinator Clark] Lea,” Lyght said.
“In the strength and power area he’s going to have to do some work because he’s a little bit developmental there. But his playmaking skills, his ball skills, his speed and his reactive athleticism are second to none in this class.”
Bracy’s first look will come at field cornerback, or the wide side of the field.
Meanwhile, Lyght said Wilkens will be auditioned first at boundary cornerback because of his ball skills. While leading North Fort Myers High to its best record (9-1) in 11 years, Wilkens’ 34 pass receptions averaged 18.1 yards and included six scores. On defense he recorded 36 tackles, five passes broken up and two interceptions.
“His background is more on the offensive side of the ball, which is okay, but he came along his senior year defensively, becoming a surer tackler,” Lyght said. “With his length and speed, he can become an outstanding press corner.
“Depending what happens with receiver, there might be some two-way play when he first gets here, and where his skill set best fits. We will know soon enough.”
Finally, the fourth member of the incoming quartet is Maryland’s three-star and 6-1, 180-pound DJ Brown, who originally committed to Virginia. Many scouts believe he might be better suited for safety, and Lyght cites Brown’s strength as the prime asset because of his trademark that Lyght described as “punish[ing] ball carriers at the high school level.”
At least one could find a niche as the nickel back the way Crawford has.
“The key ingredient for a successful nickel back at the collegiate level is reactive athleticism, the ability to change direction really, really fast, have fluid hips, being able to diagnose plays and being able to read into the box,” Lyght said. “We’re looking for smart guys that can read and diagnose plays.”
In his first two seasons at Notre Dame, Lyght was assigned the entire secondary. Last year he instructed only the cornerbacks while former defensive coordinator Mike Elko handled the safeties (Terry Joseph was brought in from North Carolina to mentor the safeties in 2018), and Lyght said that played a huge role in the 2017 improvement of the cornerbacks.
“Having the safeties and the corners is like coaching the running backs and wide receivers — it’s a lot,” Lyght said. “With the 20-hour rule [allotted NCAA time with college football players in a week], you have only so much time, and a lot of that time is dedicated to install, defensive structure and opponent schemes.
“What you lose are a lot of the technique parts of it because I never get to watch a lot of film with the corners, the one-on-one film with the technique part. You really don’t get to bear down like you want to with the technique aspect of it when you have the whole group.
“Being able to focus on one group, fundamentally and technically, they can be much more sound because there’s more time with one particular group.”
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