Notre Dame receives No 1 rating for critical position group

Marcus Freeman has elevated the recruiting standard for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in recent seasons.

The Irish have struggled to recruit elite players at a few premium positions like receiver and cornerback since the Lou Holtz era. Charlie Weis and Brian Kelly were able to land solid quarterbacks and players in the trenches, but skilled players kept the Irish from being a legitimate threat to win the national championship.

Freeman has one of the best quarterbacks in college football with CJ Carr, and the trenches should be able to compete with most teams in the country.

But the best group for Notre Dame might be in the secondary.

Chris Hummer with CBS Sports ranked Notre Dame as having the No. 1 position group in the country at cornerback, and Leonard Moore will be the undisputed leader of that bunch.

“For starters, the Irish have college football’s unquestioned CB1 in Leonard Moore,” Hummer wrote.

“The 6-foot-2, 195-pound junior has seven career interceptions while holding opposing passers to a 50% completion rate. He’s arguably the best defensive player in college football. The starters around him are pretty good, too.”

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In addition to Moore, Christian Gray brings experience to the Irish while Colorado transfer DJ McKinney could become a star for Notre Dame this fall.

“Christian Gray is entering his senior season with 1,632 career snaps,” Hummer wrote. “He got targeted a lot last season opposite Moore, but held opposing passers to a 58.8% completion rate while totaling 17 tackles and a pair of interceptions. Notre Dame also added veteran DJ McKinney from Colorado out of the transfer portal.

“He’s played more than 2,000 snaps in his career between Oklahoma State and Colorado and was arguably the Buffaloes’ best defensive player the last two seasons. It’ll be interesting to see who slots in at nickel for the Irish. But in terms of pure cornerback depth and experience, they’re the best in the country.”

Having an elite secondary will come in handy for the Irish if they make the College Football Playoff.

Oregon quarterback Dante Moore and Texas quarterback Arch Manning appear to be the biggest threats to push the ball down the field in the CFP.

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