Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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16 SEPT. 30, 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY JACK SOBLE C am Hart could be in the NFL right now. It would have been an ardu- ous pre-draft process for Hart, a graduate student cornerback, who spent most of the offseason rehabbing his third shoulder injury in four years with Notre Dame. But he could have done it — if he didn't believe his journey with Notre Dame was unfinished. "Due to a shoulder injury that I sus- tained during the Boston College game, I could not participate in our final regu- lar season game and will not be able to participate in this year's bowl game," Hart said Nov. 29 in a social media graphic. "Consequently, I believe my time here isn't necessarily complete." Since coming back, Hart healed his shoulder, survived a brief injury scare in fall camp (he left practice with an apparent head injury but didn't miss more than a week) and started his season with 3 recep- tions allowed on 11 targets in four games. Most significantly for Hart, he was named one of the team's four captains, along with graduate student quarter- back Sam Hartman, graduate student linebacker JD Bertrand and junior of- fensive tackle Joe Alt. In that role, Hart leads a Notre Dame secondary which helped produce the top pass efficiency defense (84.73 rating allowed) in the country through Week 3. But Hart, staying persistent, believes his group still has room to grow. "It's amazing," Hart said. "It's amaz- ing to see it all come together. I feel like we were waiting for that moment— we're still waiting for that breakthrough moment as a defense." 'LIKE A BIG BROTHER' Hart left an impression on Notre Dame freshman cornerback Christian Gray, from the day Gray arrived on campus. "He's been like a big brother to me," Gray said. "Every time I wanted to learn something, I would call him, and he would always be there. He never wasted time, never stuttered. He just always knew it, knew it, knew it and tried to teach me everything." Sophomore cornerback Benjamin Mor- rison used the same phrase to describe Hart: "Like a big brother." Morrison said Hart taught him how to grow up when he HEART OF THE DEFENSE Captain Cam Hart fought through adversity and now leads an airtight secondary in his graduate season