Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview
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112 ✦ BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2017 FOOTBALL PREVIEW In recent years (2014‑16) with former defensive coordinator Brian Van‑ Gorder's more NFL‑structured base, the Notre Dame cornerbacks were listed as left or right. In a subtle distinction now, they are referred to as the boundary (shorter side of the field) or field (longer side) corners. The boundary corners this season — 6‑1, 203‑pound senior Nick Watkins and 6‑2½, 209‑pound sophomore Donte Vaughn — who have less field to cover, generally are matched against bigger, more physical receivers. It is a familiar approach for third‑year Notre Dame assistant Todd Lyght, who will coach the cornerbacks this year while new coordinator Mike Elko instructs the safeties. It was how he played at Notre Dame (1987‑90) as a two‑time con‑ sensus All‑American before becoming a 12‑year NFL veteran. "I like it because in the college game it is a boundary and field game," Lyght said. "It's not like the NFL where the hashes are in the middle of the field and it's a left‑right game. Last time we won the national championship [1988], I played field corner, and Stan [Smagala] played boundary corner. "If you get the guys comfortable playing boundary and playing field, they get a better feel for the game, get a better feel of route combinations and will be able to execute at a higher level." Not since Bobby Taylor in 1992‑94, has Notre Dame had corners as tall and angular as Watkins and Vaughn. And at a listed 209 pounds this spring, Vaughn is the biggest Irish cornerback since 6‑4, 206‑pound Stacey Toran, a 1983 co‑ captain. "With his range and size, his speed, his ability to bend, his reactive athleti‑ cism, he's a guy that if he really takes his game to the next level, you might see him play on Sundays," Lyght said of Vaughn. With such size can come less flexibility, but Lyght is confident in their ma‑ neuverability. "Those guys have fluid hips, and their reactive athleticism is really good in and out of breaks," he said. "That length really helps you at the line of scrimmage. "There are three parts of the route: there's the line of scrimmage, there's the top of the route, and there's the finish. With their length, it's going to help at the beginning at the line of scrimmage." Watkins was the standout overall in the defensive backfield this spring, while Vaughn battled some back spasms that did not always enable him to finish as well as he'd like. "Nick feels really comfortable in that boundary where he's able to press and use his length," Lyght said. On the field side, sophomore Julian Love has the advantage over classmate Troy Pride Jr., while junior Shawn Crawford, sidelined in 2015 with an ACL and in 2016 with a torn Achilles, is in a healing stage. Love might possess the least physical "measureables" among the five scholar‑ ship corners, but his football IQ and fundamentals earned him eight starts last season, and he finished ninth in tackles (45) on the Irish. He also has future captain written all over with him, which is why Lyght is pushing him to become more of a leader even as a sophomore. "He does a good job pushing himself," Lyght said. "He can tackle in space, he can cover — needs to be better in man‑to‑man and in a leadership role. He has come a long way." Pride qualified for the ACC Indoor Championships as a track sprinter this winter. "Running track took away some of his development physically in the weight room," Lyght said. "For Donte, mental and physical toughness is going to be crucial. For Troy, strength and power." — Lou Somogyi Setting Boundaries Sophomore Donte Vaughn, at 6-2½ and 209 pounds, is one of the bigger Irish cornerbacks in school history. PHOTO BY COREY BODDEN