Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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UNDER THE DOME BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM AUGUST 2023 11 THREE NOTRE DAME PLAYERS NAMED PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS With the departures of tight end Michael Mayer and defensive end Isaiah Foskey, both second-round selections in April's NFL Draft, there's not much of a debate as to who's the best player on the 2023 Notre Dame football roster. It's junior tackle Joe Alt. Alt has already been tabbed as a preseason first-team All-American by Phil Steele, Athlon Sports, Lindy's Sports and Walter Camp Foot- ball as of July 13. The Associated Press preseason All-America team usually comes out in August, much closer to the start of the season. Two other Notre Dame players showed up on the aforementioned All-America lists. Sophomore cornerback Benjamin Morrison made the second team per Phil Steele, Lindy's Sports and Walter Camp Football, and he appeared on Athlon Sports' third team. Graduate student long snapper Michael Vinson checked in on Phil Steele's second team, and junior offensive tackle Blake Fisher made Athlon Sports' fourth team. Alt and Fisher are bookend starters for the Notre Dame offensive line this fall, and they could both hear their names called early in the 2024 NFL Draft. Alt is a future top-10 pick according to multiple outlets. Mayer and Foskey were consensus All-Americans at the end of the 2022 season. Alt is the best bet to be Notre Dame's next player to earn that coveted status. — Tyler Horka JADEN MICKEY NOMINATED FOR AFCA GOOD WORKS TEAM Notre Dame sophomore cornerback Jaden Mickey is an Allstate American Football Coaches Association Good Works Team nominee, the football program in July. The AFCA's criteria for a nominee includes "significant on and off-the-field contributions to his team," "outstanding character and dedication in the classroom that makes them can- didates for graduation" and "commitment to volunteerism by donating time and energy to serve others." It also stipulates that nominees should be incoming juniors or seniors, but it carves out room for exceptions, like Mickey. "Most importantly, candidates should be actively involved with charitable organizations, service groups and/or exhibit extraordinary devotion to a personal cause in their lives," the AFCA noted. "They should display sincere concern, reliability and make a favorable impact on the organization or activity in which they are involved." Mickey earned a nomination in large part by writing a book for young athletes. "The Win Isn't Always On The Scoreboard," Mickey tweeted when the book released March 6, is a book for sixth through ninth-graders that "maneuvers through the ups and downs in the life of a middle school athlete." All proceeds from Mickey's book go to the Stage 4 colon cancer treatment of his mom, Nilka. "The Win Isn't Always On The Scoreboard," Mickey's website says, is about J, an eighth grader and star athlete whose family is forced to move to a different city and a different school. In the book, J learns lessons about teamwork and commitment. The second-year cornerback from Corona (Calif.) Centennial has traveled to promote his new book. He also hosted a football camp, according to Notre Dame, that served more than 80 kids. "Mickey supports the project with book signings all over the country, while making visits to youth organizations and classrooms to discuss his book and the importance of his message," Notre Dame noted in a press release. According to the On3 Industry Ranking, Mickey was the No. 22 corner and No. 185 overall player in the class of 2022. On3 itself was higher on Mickey, placing him at No. 17 and No. 148, respectively. Mickey saw plenty of action during his true freshman year, playing in 11 games and starting one (Nov. 26 at USC). He finished the season with 9 tackles in 248 snaps. — Jack Soble Mickey, a sophomore cornerback, is a published author. He wrote a children's book with proceeds going to his mother's colon cancer treatment. PHOTO COURTESY JADEN MICKEY TWITTER Junior offensive tackle Joe Alt is receiving plenty of preseason praise, landing on four preseason All-America first teams as of July 13. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER