Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1540095
16 OCT. 11, 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY ERIC HANSEN O ne of the first things Notre Dame freshman cornerback Mark Zackery IV is looking for- ward to the most this offseason is getting back on the basketball court — his first love and almost his lasting one — and dunking on someone. At 5-foot-11. "[The Irish football coaches] were like, 'No basketball in season,'" said the former two-sport star at Indianapolis Ben Davis High, who led the Giants to a state title in the state's largest enroll- ment class in each sport. "So, best be- lieve right after the season, I'm getting in the gym just to make sure I'm not rusty. I can't have my [guys] thinking I'm trash or anything like that." Zackery also knows what it feels like to get dunked on — in football, figuratively speaking. It happened on the second day in training camp this preseason for the June first-time enrollee, when redshirt fresh- man wide receiver Micah Gilbert repeatedly beat Indiana high school's reigning Mr. Football deep in some one-on-one pass- ing drills. And then the scenario played out again under brighter lights and higher stakes, though more intermittently than steadily in a Sept. 20 home game against Pur- due. That's when Zackery made his first college start, in place of injured preseason All-American Leonard Moore. And the Boilermakers tar- geted Zackery 8 times, completing 6 of those passes in a 56-30 Irish victory. The next week, in a 56-13 Irish domination of Arkansas on the road, Zackery applied the sting- ing lessons learned and allowed just 1 catch on 4 targets against the Razorbacks. "Right after the Purdue game, of course, we won," Zackery said. "And we experienced team glory for the first time all year, so it was great. But just going back, I didn't feel good about myself and what I gave up. I know people were telling me it's just being a freshman, first game, whatever, but I have a super-high standard for my- self and I know [defensive backs] coach INTO THE FIRE Freshman cornerback Mark Zackery IV is growing up fast when the heat is on