CLASS IMPACT: Cornerback Jaden Mickey To Notre Dame

Breaking down how the commitment of Jaden Mickey impacts the Notre Dame 2022 recruiting class and the Irish depth chart

Notre Dame landed up a much-needed commitment from Corona (Calif.) Centennial cornerback Jaden Mickey. It was a big pickup for the Irish, who are now on the board with secondary recruiting in the 2022 class.

Mickey was down to a final group that consisted of the Irish, Oregon, California and Northwestern. An outstanding student and the No. 220 overall player in the country according to 247Sports, Mickey certainly fits the Notre Dame profile of excellence on and off the field.

Let's take a look at how the commitment of Mickey impacts the Notre Dame 2022 recruiting class and the depth chart.

CLASS IMPACT

Mickey is the 10th player to commit to Notre Dame in this class, he's the fourth defensive player and the first player in the secondary to join the Notre Dame 2022 haul.

Notre Dame landed three cornerbacks in the 2020 class and four more in the 2021 class. Notre Dame's two highest graded corners in the 2021 class were Ryan Barnes and Philip Riley, who project first as boundary players due to their size, length and coverage skill. Riley grades out just as well at safety and the nickel spot.

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What Notre Dame needs in this class to complement the last two classes are more field corners, players who thrive first and foremost in coverage. Defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman preferred using a lot of man coverage on the outside when he was building a dominant defense at Cincinnati, so landing corners that could thrive playing man to field was important, but it's also difficult to find.

Mickey projects to be exactly that kind of player, and if he makes the growth/speed jumps I expect him to after his sophomore season that will enhance his value to the class and boost him up the rankings. Adding one more pure cover corner to the class would be ideal, but getting Mickey to kick off the secondary class was big for corners coach Mike Mickens and the Irish staff.

NOTRE DAME FIT

Notre Dame will play field-boundary with its base defense, and Mickey projects more as a field cornerback. He is rangy, instinctive and shows all the traits you want in a cover player. Even as an undersized player as a sophomore in 2019, Mickey showed the ability to play man against bigger defenders, which is important as a field corner.

Mickey is a willing tackler with top-notch ball skills, also traits that are vitally important to the field cornerback position. 

Here is my film analysis of Mickey: 

"To begin, Mickey is a quick footed and fluid athlete, two of the most important traits I look for in a cornerback, especially one that will be tasked with playing man coverage. Mickey also shows impressive coverage instincts, showing the ability to read routes effectively and to mirror what wideouts are doing. Mickey gets his hands on a lot of throws, both on the man he is defending, but also when he is able to come out of his zone and drive on the ball.

"That combination of smooth athletic skills and a high football IQ is impressive, but when you consider its based on sophomore film it makes it even more impressive.

"Mickey is still quite skinny as a sophomore, and he didn't look to be the 5-11 to 6-0 he's listed at now. Recent photos show a player that has filled out and grown a bit, but we have yet to see that on the football field. It's one of the top things I'm looking to see once he finally gets back on the field. As an undersized sophomore Mickey showed a lot of fight, both as a tackler and playing the football. His ability to shut down 6-5, 215-pound USC commit Keyan Burnett in a 2019 matchup was incredibly impressive.

"While Mickey is a smooth and fluid athlete, his speed at this point isn't elite. That's another area where I am looking forward to seeing his progress when he gets back on the field. Some athletes make big jumps from their sophomore to senior seasons, and if Mickey makes a normal sophomore to senior speed progression his grade and ranking will increase. If he shows a better than normal jump he has the overall skills to push his way into the Top 100 caliber ranking."

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