Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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6 NOV. 30, 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY TYLER HORKA D e f e n s i ve b a c k R o d Heard II and wide receiver Jayden Harrison were doing just fine where they were. They could have easily stayed put, Heard at Northwestern and Harrison at Marshall, and enjoyed the best years of their careers. Instead, they both transferred to Notre Dame. And it's been everything they could have ever imag- ined, even if they're not No. 1 options at their re- spective positions. Heard played more than 800 defensive snaps as a Wildcat in 2023. This season, he's on pace to play around 326. Harrison caught 28 passes for 410 yards in 2023. This season, he had 15 for 191 through 10 games. It's not about numbers for either of them, though. It's about being part of something special. Notre Dame is in the thick of the College Football Play- off conversation in late November. They wouldn't have experienced that in Evanston, Ill., or Huntington, W.Va. "For me and Jayden, deciding to come here was a big deal," Heard said. "And the reason why we came here is because of the coaching staff, because of the players, because of the environment." "I came to Notre Dame based on the opportunity to play for something bigger than myself," Harrison added. "Play for the culture that Notre Dame provides, and I just embodied that as soon as I got here." The Irish played their closest game in a while in Week 12 versus Virginia, an eventual 35-14 victory for Notre Dame. Heard and Harrison were both reasons why it wasn't any closer. After a muffed punt turnover for the Irish, Heard punched the ball out of a Cavalier's arms inside the Irish 20. Notre Dame recovered. It was a points-saving play when the game was very much still hanging in the balance, the Irish clinging to a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter. Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden said Heard played his best game with the Irish that afternoon. Golden asks him to do a lot, from backing up the starting safeties to playing nickel and even outside corner. All Golden has ever been met with is, "Yes sir." "He's bought into what we're doing," Golden said. "He's improving. He's improved over the last month. I told him his practice, his keys, his vision, his break on the ball, all of those things have improved. … I don't know where we would be without him right now to be honest with you." As for Harrison, his best game in a Notre Dame uniform through Week 12 was also against Virginia. He caught 3 passes for 41 yards and a touchdown. If the Irish of- fensive line had not been flagged for il- legal hands to the face, Harrison would have had 4 catches for 119 yards and 2 touchdowns. He hit his marks on a 78- yard catch-and-run over the middle in spite of the penalty. Three for 41 and with one score or 4 for 119 and two scores, doesn't matter. Harrison looked like one of Notre Dame's top receiv- ing threats on Senior Day in South Bend. Offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock spoke of his improvement in a similar way to how Golden highlighted Heard's. "I was just really happy for him that a lot of the hard work that he's put in to give himself a chance to be not only better at being a natural receiver and not just defined as a lot of people define him in the beginning as a kick returner," Denbrock said. "To see him get rewarded for that is just as good as it gets for my opinion." Notre Dame head coach Marcus Free- man said Heard brought an element of maturity to an Irish secondary that has two sophomores and a true freshman among the starters. He said Harrison is an "energy provider," something not taken for granted in an Irish offense that was stagnant to start the year but has come on strong as players like Harrison get more involved. Together, they just flat-out make Notre Dame a better football team on both sides of the ball. Championship teams are deep. Heard and Harrison are championship-caliber depth. It's a bit ironic they both wear the No. 2. Individuals come second to team, and they embody that as well as anyone. "I just think that so far as the season has been going, we've been focused on keeping the standard the standard, per- forming at a high level and getting our jobs done," Heard said. "Those two guys have been great additions to our program," Freeman added. ✦ UNDER THE DOME UNSUNG HEROES Rod Heard II and Jayden Harrison give Notre Dame championship-caliber depth Harrison (left) and Heard (right) came to South Bend to be part of something special, and have done their part to keep the Irish in the College Football Playoff conversation. PHOTOS BY MICHAEL MILLER