(Notre Dame) — You could say Notre Dame assistant coach Mike Mickens has “cornered the market” on secondary play.

Once an area of notorious question marks for Irish squads, since Mickens’ arrival in 2020, cornerbacks have become an area of strength on the defense. This year may be the deepest season yet, with returning starters Leonard Moore and Christian Gray backed up by talented freshmen Dallas Golden and Mark Zackery IV.

“They’re just competitive,” shrugs Mickens. “There’s great leadership in the room. Guys want to get better and they just get after it. That’s what I love about them,”

Moore was named the Football Writers’ Freshman Defensive Player of the Year last season and the Round Rock, Texas native is looking to get even better this season.

“It’s the attention to detail, coming in every day and being focused on what we’re doing,” notes the talented sophomore. “I feel like the game moves slower for me now. You go out there as a young dude, sometimes you’re just trying not to get beat over the top or beat across the face. Now, I’m understanding what the offense is doing towards me, and I feel I’m playing faster because of that.”

While Moore locks down one side, junior Christian Gray takes care of the other side. The St. Louis native had some major ups and downs in 2024, but says those are proving valuable.

“I feel more confident,” admits Gray, who made key picks in wins over USC and Penn State. “I learned a lot about technique, but most importantly, I learned more about mental space, too.

After the last game, I just saw a real brotherhood, a real love that I found. I thought I was going to be alone. I thought everyone was going to walk away from me and I thought the world was ending. Then I found B-Mo (Ben Morrison) was there, X (Xavier Watts) was there, everyone was there for me.”

Both Moore and Gray are serving as mentors to the freshmen Golden and Zachary, who admit to going through a little culture shock.

“It’s definitely been a tough adjustment, because everybody on the field is a dawg,” says Golden, who hails from Tampa, where he played on both sides of the ball. “Going against the best every single day, you want to compete and we all get better. I’ve learned a lot with all the small details and especially technique.”

Zackery was a muti-sport star at Ben Davis in Indianapolis. His father played at Ball State and has helped with his transition to the college game.

“He told me ‘yeah, I was the guy at Ben Davis, too, but when I got to college, I was at the bottom.’,” smiles Zackery, who was a safety in high school. “So I expected that and just trying to compete every day and work my way up.”

Mickens has high regard for his recruits.

“It’s a day-by-day process for them,” notes the veteran assistant. “They learn every day and you see the growth from day one until now. That’s the great thing about it.”

Likewise, the recruits feel they are learning from the best.

“He’s been recruiting me since my freshman year and now I’m a freshman here,” Zackery says of Mickens. “It’s been a journey with him. He’s the best coach in the country, developing guys like Leonard, Xavier and Ben. It kid of feels like father-son, with him giving me whatever help I need.”

The Irish corners will be tested in two weeks, when they visit #10 Miami, Fla. on Sunday, August 31.

We will preview the season and the opener at Miami Monday, August 25th at 7pm on Pulse FM on the season debut of Notre Dame Federal Credit Union’s Irish Football Fix. Christian Gray will be our 1st Focus on Faith guest.