Moving Clarence Lewis Could Solidify The Notre Dame Secondary

Notre Dame lost a few very key pieces to a secondary that was quietly one of the team's best units this past season. If the Irish defense is going to make the necessary improvements to put a championship caliber unit on the field, the secondary will need to perform even better despite those losses.

Notre Dame returns one of the nation's best cornerback tandems in Cam Hart and Benjamin Morrison, and the corner depth behind that duo has potential. The question marks are replacing TaRiq Bracy in the nickel as well as safeties Brandon Joseph and Houston Griffith.

One very key piece to next season's secondary success could very well be rising senior Clarence Lewis. A starting cornerback for part of the 2020 season, all of 2021 and early in 2022, Lewis finished his junior season as a rotation piece at cornerback and in the slot.

Lewis is a veteran, steady cornerback that improved in 2022, but he's just not a corner that thrives in the man coverage schemes the Irish defense employs. Lewis is a player that is at his best when he can keep things in front of him, where he can use his intelligence, quickness and quality tackling skills to make plays.

In many ways Lewis has the game of a safety, and at 5-11 1/2 and 203 pounds he has the size to play the position as well. A case could be made that Lewis could have a far greater impact at safety. Not just as a quality depth piece, but as a potential difference maker at the position. I've felt for two seasons now that moving inside and off the ball would enhance the talent that Lewis does possess. When he can keep things in front of him and play a more downhill game he's been quite good, and as I mentioned above he's a smart and instinctive football player. He's just not a flip your hips and run cornerback in a man defense.

Notre Dame has three returners at safety in Xavier Watts, DJ Brown and Ramon Henderson. Behind that is oft-injured Justin Walters and a trio of true freshmen in Adon Shuler, Ben Minich and Brandyn Hillman.

Brown is a steady but limited player and although Henderson is fast he has yet to show the instincts to be a productive safety on the ball. Coming down into the alley is a strength for Henderson, but he hasn't been much of a difference maker in the pass game. Watts has the most potential at the position and he flashed playmaking skills down the stretch.

Moving Lewis would not only solidify the depth and give the safety position protection against an injury, or against someone currently at the position not playing well, it would give the safety depth chart a player that could very well force his way into the starting lineup. If Lewis is the player at safety I think he could be, I wouldn't be at all shocked to see him become a far more productive player, especially in the pass game, and I could see it boosting his draft stock quite a bit.

There's just one problem, Notre Dame can't just move Lewis just because. It needs players at other positions to have strong offseasons and perform in a way that makes corners coach Mike Mickens comfortable enough moving Lewis to another spot. 

Here is a look at what we need to see this offseason to precipitate a move of Lewis to safety.

THOMAS HARPER WAS STEP ONE

The first big step to giving the secondary he necessary pieces to move Lewis was picking up Oklahoma State transfer Thomas Harper. A nickel/slot player for the Cowboys, Harper has the talent and experience to quickly take over the starting slot position. 

Had Notre Dame not been able to land Harper it would have made it impossible to move Lewis, who likely would have stepped into the starting role in the slot. Lewis would have performed well there, and I felt that his best play in 2022 was from the slot. 

With Harper now in the fold, however, Notre Dame can use Lewis for depth there but also allow him to stay in the rotation outside. That makes landing him this offseason incredibly important, and there's a chance adding him impacts multiple positions.

KEEP AN EYE ON CHANCE TUCKER

Right now the Irish have starters Hart and Morrison as locks on the outside, and rising sophomore Jaden Mickey is a player I expect to make a jump in 2023. I'd like to see Mickey get some snaps behind Harper in the slot, but he's definitely going to be working this offseason to become the third cornerback in the rotation, which will mean a lot of snaps.

Hart and Morrison are an outstanding pair when they are on their game, but Notre Dame wants to have at least a three-man rotation outside in order to keep the corners fresh. Even if Mickey steps up and has a strong offseason, having just three corners ready to play is not enough depth to justify moving Lewis.

That's where young players like Chance Tucker and Ryan Barnes come into play. For one, Barnes could also play safety, and a strong offseason could allow him to also make a move to the back end of the defense, a position he played early in the 2022 season in order to provide depth.

Tucker is a player I'm looking forward to seeing this spring. A smart, smooth and instinctive cornerback, Tucker is entering the period of his career where his game should take a big jump. He was behind a bit when he arrived at Notre Dame due to California's strange 2020 season that forced his senior season to be shortened, and moved to the spring.

Sources have told Irish Breakdown that Lewis was surging late in the 2022 season, and there are expectations from insiders that he has a chance to push for a role in 2023. 

I could see Tucker working at all three second level spots, meaning he has the range and tackling potential to play the field position, the man cover skills to play the boundary, and he could also fit into the slot position. If he can continue adding strength and take his game to the next level, Tucker is the kind of talent that could make Notre Dame feel much, much better about moving Lewis to safety. In fact, Tucker's emergence this spring could be the primary driver of a decision to move Lewis to spring, which would be great for the secondary as a whole, and great for Lewis.

ROOKIE CORNERS WILL BATTLE

Notre Dame welcomes two new cornerbacks the roster in 2023, with freshman Christian Gray arriving this spring and Micah Bell set to arrive in the summer.

Gray getting an early jump as an early enrollee could pay huge dividends for him, the cornerback depth chart, and for Lewis. Gray is battle tested and talented, possessing impressive length, fluid hips and top-level speed. If he can quickly pick up the defense, make good strides in the weight room and clean up his footwork a bit I could see him making an immediate splash at cornerback.

In fact, Gray could end up being a lot like Morrison, meaning he's just too good not to plays as a rookie. Gray could play both the field and boundary positions, and if he is as good as I think he is the Irish staff is going to have a hard time keeping him on the sidelines.

Bell needs a lot of technical work and he's still very much learning the position, but he has game breaking speed. The Houston native is one of the fastest players in the nation, and you can overcome a lot when you can run like Bell.

The excellent recruiting by Mickens in the 2021, 2022 and 2023 classes has put him in position to field a very long, deep and talented cornerback rotation. If younger players like Mickey, Tucker, Barnes, Gray and/or Bell are able to shine this spring and into the summer the Irish will have the depth needed to strongly consider moving Lewis.

If those young players force a move like that the Irish secondary could be truly special in 2023, and will be the foundation of the entire defense taking a much-needed jump forward.