Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM MAY 2025 27 For his exceptional first-year perfor- mance, Moore was named the Fresh- man Defensive Player of the Year by the Football Writers Association of Amer- ica. And he wants more, pun intended. "I think that's passed for me," Moore said. "Now, I'm at the point where I'm trying to get to the top of the top. I'm trying to dominate. I'm trying to, no matter what receiver is out there, lock him down." The crazy thing is, he already might have crossed that "top of the top" threshold. ESPN named Moore a way-too-early first-team All-American in early Febru- ary. Pro Football Focus named him the best returning cornerback in the coun- try. He will almost certainly be a first- or second-team preseason All-American when outlets roll out their lists in August. Moore is a superstar, and he head- lines a sophomore class that could prove transformational for head coach Marcus Freeman's program in South Bend. PREMIUM PLAYERS AT PREMIUM POSITIONS Notre Dame knew it had something special in Moore the moment he stepped on campus in June, even drawing com- parisons to New York Jets star and former top-five NFL Draft pick Sauce Gardner. Freeman and Irish defensive backs coach Mike Mickens found, recruited and developed Gardner at Cincinnati, and they saw many of the same traits in Moore. "It just kept happening and happen- ing," Freeman told ESPN's Pete Thamel. "I said, 'Does he remind you of a kid that we had at Cincinnati?' [Mickens] said, 'Oh, yeah.' It's just because of his length and he kept winning one-on-one battles." Moore stepped up as a permanent starter when junior cornerback Ben- jamin Morrison, a likely Day 2 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, suffered a season- ending injury in October. Cornerback depth was a concern for the Irish, who had already lost one vet- eran backup after Jaden Mickey decided to redshirt and enter the transfer portal. A hole at that position can cripple a de- fense, and Morrison's injury threatened to derail Notre Dame's hopes of a Col- lege Football Playoff run. In stepped Moore, who was just as good, if not better. "He's just a special player," Mickens said. "One that wants to continue to get better. He's a pro in every way." Moore went through growing pains against Louisville and Georgia Tech while he adjusted to the college game, allowing 165 yards in coverage over the course of those two starts. Over his final nine, he allowed only 129 yards in cover- age. From the beginning, he was an out- standing run defender for the position, too. Moore's contributions — particu- larly with a defensive line hanging on by a thread after multiple injuries — were instrumental in extending Notre Dame's season to college football's final day. He wasn't the only one from that class to make a huge impact. On Aug. 6, projected starting left tackle Charles Jagusah tore his right pectoralis muscle and Notre Dame's season was on the brink before it began. The offensive tackle situation in South Bend was questionable at best, and the Irish had now lost the player they be- lieved was their best at the position. Less than a week later, Anthonie Knapp was elevated to the starting role. His first test: A Texas A&M defensive line that featured two defensive ends who will be drafted in the first two rounds of April's NFL Draft, in one of the most hostile environments in college football. His performance was not perfect — no reasonable individual would expect it to be — but he got the job done. Knapp would start the next 14 games, a record for a Notre Dame freshman, until his season- ending ankle injury in the Orange Bowl. Knapp's performance received strong reviews from the coaching staff, and based on offensive line coach Joe Ru- dolph's comments, he's the favorite to start at left tackle again in 2025. "He just was so natural playing out there and he's got really good length," Rudolph said. "He just really does some things that helped us and gave us some strength and power and consistency out there. We thought he played really well, so we'll see." Knapp and Moore were both three-star prospects, but they became critical parts of Notre Dame's present and future. BUDDING STARS Linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa missed nearly six weeks with a knee in- jury late in the 2024 season. In his first "I'm trying to dominate. I'm trying to, no matter what receiver is out there, lock him down." MOORE Pro Football Focus named Moore the best return- ing cornerback in the country for the 2025. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER