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Over the last four seasons Notre Dame has become arguably the best producer of cornerbacks in the country thanks to the recruiting and coaching of Mike Mickens. A new era begins at cornerback in South Bend, but expectations will remain the same. New position coach Aaron Henry arrives with his won impressive track record when it comes to developing corners, and now he'll look to make the 2026 Notre Dame group an elite unit.

There is a lot of talent, length and depth, but there are also some questions that will need to be addressed between now and the beginning of the 2026 season. It might take some time to find the answers, but once they present themselves the answer should result in Notre Dame continuing its recent tradition of producing big time cornerback rooms.

Let's wrap up our depth chart projection series with a look at the cornerbacks.

PROJECTED CORNER-NICKEL DEPTH CHART

RETURNING PRODUCTION

DJ McKinney (Colorado) – 35 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 INT, 5 breakups
Leonard Moore – 31 tackles, 5 INT, 7 breakups, 1 forced fumble
Jayden Sanders (Michigan) – 23 tackles, 1 breakup
Dallas Golden – 22 tackles, 1 INT, 2 breakups
Christian Gray – 17 tackles, 2 INT, 11 breakups
Mark Zackery IV – 10 tackles, 0.5 TFL, 2 breakups

WHAT WAS LOST

Notre Dame will have a new starting nickel for the sixth straight season after DeVonta Smith exhausted his eligibility. Smith was solid for Notre Dame last season when healthy, but injuries limited him to just eight games. Notre Dame also lost Karson Hobbs (Florida State) and Cree Thomas (Colorado) to the portal. Hobbs got a lot of playing time early in the season but he struggled mightily and was ultimately relegated to mop up minutes. Thomas had a lot of potential, but the depth chart was very deep.

NATION'S TOP CB RETURNS

Notre Dame will have the nation's best cornerback in 2026 thanks to the return of rising junior Leonard Moore. Not only is he the best returning corner, but he was arguably the best cornerback in the nation last season. For some inexplicable reason, teams still targeted Moore last season, which is why he picked off five passes and broke up seven more. Moore can do it all. He is an elite man defender, he has grown into a quality run defender, he can make plays on the football, he has the range you want as a zone corner and he showed that he can move around the field and matchup against an opponent's top player, which Makai Lemon learned.

For Moore, it's really about just staying focused and staying healthy. Yes, there are still aspects of his technical game that can be improved, but he's already the nation's best cornerback. Improving would be great, but just continue doing what you do and staying healthy means Notre Dame will have the best DB in all of college football.

WHERE DOES GRAY PLAY?

Senior Christian Gray gets a lot of flak from Notre Dame fans, which is unfortunate, because for most of the last two seasons he's been an outstanding cover player. The issue for Gray is that he is prone to having some moments where he either displays poor technique or doesn't execute his assignment, and when that happens he gets beat. Gray is a gifted cornerback, but at times it doesn't appear he has full trust in himself, and that's often when he gets in trouble. When Gray plays confident and sound football he's a really, really good cover player.

So the key for Gray in his final season is growing into being the player where he can play smart, sound football, which then allows his impressive talent to carry the day. If he does that his final season will be without a doubt his best.

The big question with Gray is where will he play? It's no surprise that one of his best games of the 2025 season was when he started in the boundary, because ultimately the field corner spot is not his best spot. Gray is best when he can come up and play more aggressive football. Could that result in Gray moving inside to Nickel, since the Irish didn't go into the portal for a nickel this offseason? I wouldn't be surprised if Gray gets work there this spring, and if he looks comfortable there I could see that becoming a permanent move.

Whether or not it works out remains to be seen, but if Gray can make a quick transition inside I think it would suit his game quite well and would go a long way towards allowing the cornerback room to reach its full potential.

SOPHOMORE STANDOUTS

A pair of sophomores will work hard this spring to push the veterans, to hold off the talented freshmen, and to challenge the transfers. That would be Dallas Golden and Mark Zackery, who were both thrust into the starting lineup in certain stints last season thanks to injuries. 

Golden played mostly nickel last season and he'll likely spend a lot of time there this spring. The Florida native was up-and-down as a rookie, but when he was was on top of his game he was really, really good. You could see his immense talent during those stretches, but in other instances the looked like a true freshman who never really devoted much time as a prep star to being a full-time corner. The tools are there, but in year two Golden has to show a better grasp of the defense and advanced technical prowess. If he can do that it will be very hard to keep him off the field. If Notre Dame views Gray as being more natural outside, Golden will have a chance to start, but at the very least I expect him to be a key member of the DB rotation.

Zackery made two starts last season in place of Moore and another in place of Gray. He struggled in his first start (Purdue), but Zackery made very quick improvements in start number two (Arkansas). He was even better in the win over Boston College. Zackery allowed just two completions for 12 yards on eight targets (according to PFF) in his last two starts. Zackery is an athletic player that like Golden was still learning the finer points of the position. With so much talent arriving through the portal and freshman class, Zackery will need to make a jump this offseason to remain in position to compete for a starting role.

IMPACTFUL TRANSFER CLASS

Notre Dame is no stranger to getting defensive backs out of the portal, but outside corner has not been a frequent target for the Irish. That changed this offseason, as Notre Dame landed DJ McKinney from Colorado and Jayden Sanders from Michigan.

McKinney is a three year starter that spent his first season in the lineup at Oklahoma State and the last two at Colorado. He started opposite Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter in 2024, which was his best season as a starter. McKinney was outstanding that season, showing the range, feel for coverage and playmaking ability to earn honorable mention All Big 12 honors that season. McKinney had 62 tackles, three tackles for loss, three interceptions and nine pass break ups that season. He battled injuries for much of the 2025 season and wasn't nearly as effective, but Notre Dame is betting on him returning to the form he showed in 2024.

Sanders earned a pair of starts as a true freshman at Michigan and had an overall solid season. Like we saw with Golden and Zackery in their starts at Notre Dame, Sanders struggled with consistency. Michigan also asked him to mostly play off zone, which kept him out of some of the tougher coverage situations that Golden and Zackery faced. At Notre Dame, Sanders will need to use his size and athleticism to be a more impactful cover player. The tools are there, but he'll need to show more playmaking ability if he's going to push for a starting role.

I expect McKinney to work at field cornerback when he arrives this summer, but we'll find out this spring if Sanders will be a field player, will groom behind Moore in the boundary, or perhaps cross trains at both positions to see where he fits best.

FRESHMAN CLASS IS ELITE

Notre Dame landed the nation's best cornerback group in the 2026 class, signing elite corner Khary Adams and a pair of Top 100 corners in Ayden Pouncey and Chas Smith. This group is extremely gifted, and in past seasons they would be pushing for two-deep roles the day they step foot on campus. It will be tougher with the depth in front of them, but make no mistake, this group is going to make their presence felt over the next several months. Any older player that struggles, or misses time with injury, is going to struggle to keep these talented young players from passing them up.

PAST BREAKDOWNS

Quarterback
Running Back
Wide Receiver
Tight End
Offensive Line
Defensive End
Defensive Tackle
Linebacker
Safeties

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