Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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The Corner Market What is the difference between boundary cornerback and field cornerback, and what specific skills sets are required at each spot? This spring, the Irish had junior Bennett Jackson and sophomore Josh Atkinson working as boundary corners. They replaced Gary Gray, who was a fifth-year senior in 2011. The boundary corner means plays on the shorter side of the field from the hash mark. The boundary is the side where Notre Dame often lined up Michael Floyd as the "W" receiver, and it's where taller receivers such as John Goodman (6-3), Daniel Smith (6-4) and Luke Massa (6-4) also align. "The boundary corner typically has to be more athletic because teams ary runs into that short side of the field. He's got to be able to come up and force the edge in the Cover 2 [where a safety is behind the corner for help in coverage]." Gray's forte was he was physical against the run and a sure tackler on the short side of the field. In Jackson — Notre Dame's 2010 Special Teams Player of the Year — the Irish have a physical, open-field tackler with nowadays put their best wide receiver into the boundary," Notre Dame cor- nerbacks coach Kerry Cooks explained. "He's the matchup guy, the guy that's got to be able to play man-to-man. "He also has to be a little bit more physical because you get a lot of bound- In his second season overseeing Notre Dame's cornerbacks, assis- tant coach Kerry Cooks must whip an inexperienced group into shape. PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND decent size (6-0, 185) complemented by quality speed (60-meter hurdler for Irish track team). Atkinson has similar size (5-11, 185) and, according to Cooks, might have the most aggressive mentality among all of his corners. "You want a guy that's going to be physical and fast and long," Cooks said of the boundary corner. "He has to be ning back Cam McDaniel (5-10, 195) worked to replace the graduated Robert Blanton, a projected safety in the NFL. On that wider side of the field, the field corner often receives help from either the outside linebacker (known as the Dog) or roll-up help from the safety because there is more ground to cover. "He may go 22 plays without getting a play — but the one that he gets, he can't give it up," Cooks said. "The field corner has to be the guy who can cover a wide space field. He doesn't necessarily have to be as]physical because by the time the ball gets out to him, we're hoping that the outside backer or safety has already set it. "He's more of a cover corner, a patient guy you can trust out there to do his job for 70, 80, 90 snaps." With so much inexperience at cornerback, Cooks was not yet looking to cross-train his players this spring. That's one reason why someone such as safety Jamoris Slaughter has to be looked at as a contingency option at corner in case of injuries. "You try to work them at one position because you don't want to confuse them," Cooks said. "Let those guys get a foundation for that specific job you're asking them to do. And once they grasp that, then you may be able to move them and see what else they can handle." AUGUST 2012 44 able to go up and challenge a 6-3 wide receiver. If you have a shorter guy in the boundary, then you worry about that matchup. You have to do some other things [to compensate]." Field corner is where junior Lo Wood (5-10, 195), sophomore Jalen Brown (6-0, 198) and converted sophomore run- — Lou Somogyi