NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

After his selection to the Football Writer's Association of America (FWAA), Notre Dame cornerback Leonard Moore has been named the 39th Unanimous All-American in program history for the Fighting Irish. Moore was named a First-Team All-American by Walter Camp, the Associated Press, Sporting News, the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and by the FWAA.

Running back Jeremiyah Love was also named to this honor as well. Today marks the second time since 1990 that two Notre Dame players were selected as Unanimous All-Americans; former Irish stars Joe Alt and Xavier Watts were also named Unanimous All-Americans in 2023. This is the second time in Marcus Freeman's tenure that two players have earned the honor of Unanimous All-American. 

Moore is now a part of an elite group of players that have come through this prestigious university to have earned Unanimous All-American honors. He's now the 4th defensive back to have earned this honor and joins Watts from 2023, Shane Walton from 2002 and Todd Lyght from 1989. This is also the 6th year in a row a Notre Dame player has been named a Consensus All-American. 

Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah was named in 2020, Kyle Hamilton in 2021, Michael Mayer and Isaiah Foskey in 2022, by Alt and Watts in 2023, Watts again in 2024, and Love and Moore this season. That six-year run of consensus honors is the best for the program since the eight-year stretch from 1987 through 1994  

Moore put together an outstanding season and built upon his true freshman campaign in 2024. After his output this season, Moore was named as a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, the Bronko Nagurski Award, the Chuck Bednarik Award and the LOTT Impact Trophy which recognizes the nation's top defensive player who makes an impact on and off the field.     

The 6-2, 195-pound cornerback finished the season with 31 total tackles, five interceptions which led the team, seven passes defended which was second on the team, a pick six, and a forced fumble. He remained a solid tackler in the secondary only missing six tackles the entire season and only allowed three receiving touchdowns all season long. Moore's performance this season played a major role in the defense's overall turnaround after the first three games.

Moore also ended his season on an extremely high note in his last opportunity to make an impression for some post season accolades. He finished the night in their 49-20 win over Stanford with an interception late in the second quarterback which set up a touchdown drive to put the Irish up 35-3 at halftime. Moore finished the night with three pass break-ups and five total tackles. It was shocking to watch Stanford's quarterback continually target Moore, but that was the result nonetheless.

Notre Dame finished the season No. 1 in the country in total interceptions (21) with their star, standout cornerback hauling in five of them. Moore continued to stack performance after performance and was named the Walter Camp FBS Defensive Player of the Week and the Jim Thorpe Award Defensive Back of the Week for his performance against Boise State where he finished with two interceptions, his career high.

The Texas native ranked 1st among all starting Power 4 cornerbacks in coverage grade (91.4) and 1st in overall defensive grades (90.9) according to PFF. Teams were well aware of Moore's abilities in coverage and was only targeted 11.5 percent of the coverage snaps he played.

Moore is expected to be the No. 1 cornerback in the country heading into next season. I believed he had that title entering this season after being named the 2024 FWAA Freshman Defensive Player of the Year and was named the No. 1 returning cornerback in college football by numerous outlets including PFF, CBS Sports, ESPN and the Associated Press. Moore will look to continue his dominance in 2026, which will likely be his final year at the collegiate level. Notre Dame has strung together outstanding cornerback play under Mike Mickens and Moore might be the best amongst them.     

Notre Dame Unanimous All-Americans 

1929 – Frank Carideo, Back
1930 – Frank Carideo, Back
1931 – Marchy Schwartz, Back
1932 – Joe Kurth, Tackle
1938 – Ed Beinor, Tackle
1946 – John Lujack, Back
1947 – John Lujack, Back
1949 – Leon Hart, End
1949 – Emil Sitko, Back
1952 – John Lattner, Back
1953 – John Lattner, Back
1954 – Ralph Guglielmi, Back
1965 – Dick Arrington, Guard
1966 – Nick Eddy, Back
1966 – Jim Lynch, Linebacker
1969 – Mike McCoy, Defensive Tackle
1971 – Walt Patulski, Defensive End
1972 – Greg Marx, Defensive Tackle
1975 – Steve Niehaus, Defensive Tackle
1976 – Ross Browner, Defensive End
1977 – Ross Browner, Defensive End 
1977 – Ken McAfee, Tight End
1978 – Bob Golic, Linebacker
1980 – John Scully, Center
1987 – Tim Brown, Wide Receiver 
1989 – Todd Lyght, Defensive Back 
1990 – Raghib "Rocket" Ismail, Wide Receiver 
1990 – Michael Stonebreaker, Linebacker
1990 – Chris Zorich, Linebacker 
1993 – Aaron Taylor, Offensive Line 
2002 – Shane Walton, Defensive Back
2009 – Golden Tate, Wide Receiver 
2012 – Manti Te'o, Linebacker
2017 – Quenton Nelson, Offensive Line 
2020 – Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Linebacker
2023 – Joe Alt, Offensive Line
2023 – Xavier Watts, Safety
2025 – Jeremiyah Love, Running Back 
2025 – Leonard Moore, Cornerback 

——-

BECOME A MEMBER

Be sure to stay locked into Irish Breakdown all the time!

Join the Irish Breakdown community!
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown YouTube channel
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown podcast on iTunes
Follow me on Twitter: @TTrow5
Like and follow Irish Breakdown on Facebook

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos