Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM OCT. 12, 2024 53 J aden Mickey gave his blood, sweat and tears for Notre Dame football. Mickey fought through a tu- multuous start to his career to play significant snaps down the stretch as a freshman. He continued playing signifi- cant snaps and providing valu- able, experienced depth, even as junior classmate Benjamin Mor- rison soared past him on the depth chart and sophomore Christian Gray won the starting job opposite Morrison out of fall camp in 2024. Mo s t i m p o r ta n t ly, M i c key played through his mother, Nilka, battling colon cancer. He took an interception to the house against Pittsburgh, shortly after she moved to hospice care. He even played in the Sun Bowl Dec. 29 in El Paso, Texas, the morning after she passed away. But on Monday, Sept. 23, Notre Dame head coach Marcus Free- man announced that Mickey will redshirt the rest of the 2024 sea- son and enter the transfer por- tal with two years of eligibility remaining when the window opens in December. And there's no other option, Freeman explained, but to stand with Mickey like he stood with the Irish. "Everybody's going to have an opin- ion, myself included, but it's not our opinion that really matters," Freeman said. "Jaden Mickey made a decision that he thought was best for him. For me to do anything other than to support him, it's selfish. "I don't know what's going on in his life, and this is what he said is best for him and his future. It would be selfish for me to have selfish thoughts and opinions about the decision he's making." If Mickey is going through personal issues in his off-the-field life, it's not publicly known. It's certainly possible he wanted to be closer to his family in Eastvale, Calif. On the field, though, his opportunities were dwindling. Gray has a stranglehold on the start- ing field cornerback job. Morrison will more than likely leave for the NFL Draft after the 2024 season, as a projected top-15 pick. Mickey could have com- peted to replace him in 2025, but with only one year of eligibility remaining (if he didn't take a redshirt) and his own NFL aspirations, it might have been too great a risk to take. Regardless, as Freeman said, Mickey made the decision that was best for him. "I wish him the best of luck," Freeman said. "I love him. He's a great young man. He's been through a lot, and he'll go and do great things. But it's not our position or anybody else's to make a decision about what Jaden Mickey has decided to do." Without Mickey, Notre Dame will turn to freshmen Leonard Moore and Karson Hobbs as cornerback depth behind Morrison on the boundary and Gray to the field. Moore has played 55 defensive snaps, not all of which came in garbage time. He made his debut with 5 snaps in Week 1 at Texas A&M, spelling Morrison in the intense heat of College Station, Texas. Moore is also one of Notre Dame's biggest special teams contributors, coming in second with 58 third-phase snaps over the season's first four weeks. The Irish are over the moon about the 6-foot-2, 191-pound cornerback's upside, who enrolled in the sum- mer and made it clear early in fall camp that he would not redshirt. "This might be a stretch, but Leonard Moore will be better than I will be here," Morrison said in August. "He's a special kid." Hobbs — also a summer en- rollee — has played 15 snaps in his young career, mostly toward the end of Notre Dame's 66-7 win over Purdue. He's listed as gradu- ate student nickel back Jordan Clark's backup, but he can play outside as well. "That's why you must have depth," Freeman said. "Those two guys are definitely capable of get- ting the job done. I still feel strongly about the depth of the cornerbacks room." Freeman also pointed out that both Clark and graduate student safety Rod Heard II have played corner in the past, should the need arise. "If injuries occur in the future, we have plans, but I think the depth in that room right now just gives an opportu- nity for those younger guys to play some more," Freeman said. Cornerback depth was a major con- cern entering fall camp, even with Mickey in the fold. But the emergence of Moore and Hobbs — particularly the former — give the Irish two viable op- tions should Morrison or Gray go down. Mickey, meanwhile, will earn his Notre Dame degree in the spring and look for a new home. ✦ Following the fourth game of the campaign, Mickey made the decision to redshirt and will enter the transfer portal at the end of the season. Head coach Marcus Freeman's stance in response was to support Mickey. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER Nothing To Do But Support Jaden Mickey Staff writer Jack Soble has covered Notre Dame athletics for Blue & Gold Illustrated since August 2023. Contact him at Jack.Soble@on3.com. OFF THE DOME JACK SOBLE