Notre Dame Recruit Profile: Jaeden Gould, Cornerback

Analysis of Notre Dame cornerback prospect Jaeden Gould, a standout from Oradell (N.J.) Bergen Catholic

One of the top cornerbacks on the board for Notre Dame in 2022 is Oradell (N.J.) Bergen Catholic standout Jaeden Gould.

JAEDEN GOULD PROFILE

Hometown: Oradell, N.J.
High School: Bergen Catholic

Height: 6-2
Weight: 190

IB Grade: 4.0 (Top 100 caliber prospect)
Upside Grade: 4.5

Offers: Notre Dame, Clemson, Oklahoma, Florida, USC, Texas, Texas A&M, Michigan, Penn State, Florida State, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Nebraska, Boston College, Pittsburgh, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Arkansas, South Carolina, Ole Miss, Maryland, Kentucky, Michigan State, Virginia, Mississippi State, Georgia Tech, Duke, Indiana, Arizona State, Minnesota, Syracuse, Vanderbilt, Rutgers, Kansas

Recruited By: Mike Mickens

RECRUITING RANKINGS

ESPN: 4-star - No. 85 overall - No. 10 cornerback
247Sports: 4-star - No. 123 overall - No. 14 cornerback
Rivals: 4-star - No. 28 cornerback
Composite: 4-star - No. 145 overall - No. 16 cornerback

FILM ANALYSIS

Gould showed significant improvement from his sophomore to junior season. He was good as a sophomore, but he looked more like a safety. As a junior, however, Gould's athleticism took off and his game changed, and he graded out as a pure cornerback with elite size and length. There will be plenty of talk about Gould moving to safety because of his size and physicality as a tackler, but he has the athleticism, instincts and game to thrive at cornerback.

The biggest change from his sophomore to junior film was Gould's improved foot quickness, agility and flexibility. His ability to flip his hips is unique for such a big cornerback, and Gould impresses with his ability to change direction with ease and suddenness. His ability to plant and explode downhill will likely lead some to point to safety skills, and those traits make him a top-notch run defender.

What makes Gould a pure corner in my view is that he's just as athletic and explosive working backwards and laterally as he is working downhill. There are snaps where Gould opens up in one direction, the receiver makes a cut and he quickly plants, turns his hips and explodes towards the route. His length allows him to close quickly on the football, and Gould projects to be a very active ball disruptor at the next level.

Gould lacks the pure top-end speed of the better smaller cornerbacks in the class, but he makes up for it with his elite length, instincts and fluid athleticism.

Junior Highlights

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GRADE KEY

5.0 - Elite player
4.5 - All-American caliber player
4.0 - Multi-year starter
3.5 - Key role player / Late career-starter
3.0 - Backup

Related Content

Notre Dame 2022 Scholarship Offers

Notre Dame 2022 Class Big Board

Past Prospect Profiles

TE Jack Nickel - Notre Dame Commit
OL Joey Tanona - Notre Dame Commit
OL Ty Chan - Notre Dame Commit
DE Tyson Ford - Notre Dame Commit
DE Aiden Gobaira - Notre Dame Commit
LB Nolan Ziegler - Notre Dame Commit

QB Gavin Wimsatt
RB Dallan Hayden
RB Jadarian Price
RB Nicholas Singleton
WR Kaleb Brown
WR Tobias Merriweather
WR Kaden Saunders
OL Jake Taylor
OL Zach Rice

DE Cyrus Moss
DE DJ Wesolak
LB Sebastian Cheeks
LB Niuafe Tuihalamaka
S Xavier Nwankpa
CB Toriano Pride

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