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I wouldn't be surprised if it is one of the freshmen.

He's not as good of a pure cover man as Benjamin Morrison was, much less what Leonard Moore is now, but he's still very good. He's a bit of a higher risk vs higher reward kind of guy.

Some folks may criticize him for his less than stellar performance in the NC game, but Jeremiah Smith would have made any defensive back other than Leonard Moore look that way as well.

The key here is that he's resilient, and versatile. He can play either field cornerback or boundary cornerback effectively, and playing at nickelback could give him even more of a resume for his pro career, much like how it helped out Matthias Farley.

If we didn't have that "three star guy" named Leonard Moore already playing the boundary cornerback position, he'd probably be playing there right now.

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Golden will start at nickel, Gray can spell him.

With the transfers and young talent at corner, it's he logical move.

Gray is my favorite player. He's the soul of the team.

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Link: https://fightingirishwire.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/fighting-irish/football/2026/04/10/notre-dame-football-christian-gray-cornerback-nickelback-2026/89555444007/

He has been a very good corner that gets beat by very good receivers sometimes. Oddly enough that happens to a lot of corners who play talent equal to them.

He, IMO, wants to jump routes. This has caused him to bite on some moves and get beat deep. He's had issues turning and running sometimes. He does make plays, and he does give up some plays.

A few of the big plays last year early on I think were communication issues. By USC the communication seemed fine but he was obviously injured and got beat a few times.

Nickel could be very good for him as long as he picks up the nuances of the position, but from the presser it sounds like he is doing that. He also needs to be able to cover without grabbing as much.