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The Notre Dame Fighting Irish will enter the 2017 with a very deep secondary that will include Shaun Crawford. Crawford suffered an achilles injury last season against the Nevada Wolfpack that saw him sidelined for the remainder of the year, and a lot of rehab.
Crawford wasn’t the only casualty in the Irish secondary last season as we also remember NicK Watkins being out all season for an injury as well as the suspension of senior, Devin Butler. This allowed a lot of younger players to get valuable playing experience, and add to that depth that looks so good this year.
At the corner position specifically, Nick Watkins has emerged as a starter on one side, while true sophomore Julian Love looks as though he has locked down the other.
Maybe that changes in the fall?
2nd time around you learn something new... I learned to pray harder!! Tendon fully healed and I'm ready to take off .. #20sBACK
— Shaun Crawford (@Shaun20Crawford) April 25, 2017
At the very least, Crawford would make a tremendous nickel back which was the role he had earned 2 years ago before suffering an injury in fall camp. At best, Notre Dame is fully loaded at corner, which has allowed the emergence of Nick Coleman as a starting safety.
If this group stays healthy, there are so many more possibilities with rotations, coverages, and good old-fashioned competition which will help make for a stronger defense, and a stronger team.