The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have a roster full of players, and we want to talk about them all. One Foot Down’s player profile series will, once again, take a look at every single one of them, and hopefully we all learn a little bit more about these guys, and Notre Dame’s chances for the upcoming 2021 season.

#5 Cam Hart, Cornerback

Cam Hart is no doubt one of the more intriguing players to watch out for in both the Spring and the Fall. The meteoric rise of Freshman Clarence Lewis and the struggles of TaRiq Bracy leaves the door open for a spot, or at least a rotational spot in 2021. Hart came into Notre Dame as a highly touted WR out of Maryland, before switching over the Cornerback. He brings elite length and size to the position, as well as great ball skills dating back to his days as a WR. At nearly 6’3 205 pounds, he can be an imposing force on the outside. He played solid in action this year, playing in most games as a reserve and on special teams. He saw the most action in South Florida, where he had two really nice PBUs.

Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

One of the real shames of Covid is obviously that Spring practice is limited to the media outside of a 3 minute clip a few times a week. It would be ideal to see this cornerback competition play out, especially looking at how they react to Marcus Freeman’s defense. This scheme should favor Hart, as it is a lot of man coverage. His unique size and athleticism could quickly allow him to emerge as a dominant corner. He may still be a year away, but looking at the Spring game and the early games in the fall will be very telling.

THE RESTAURANT THAT FITS

Carl’s Jr/Hardee’s (Depending on where you live)

This has always confused me, but Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s are the same restaurant, but are named differently depending on where you live. The Midwest/part of the East Coast is Hardee’s territory while Carl’s Jr. is West Coast and down through Texas. To be honest, these restaurant do not get nearly enough attention and have some truly elite qualities. Similar to Hart or HARTEES (there it is), Carl’s Jr and Hardees possess some elite level talent, but are still smaller names in the grand scheme of things. To say the least....it is always intriguing. That is the way I view Hart this year, tons of upside, and VERY intriguing...

Also......The Frisco Burger has to be one of my favorite fast food burgers. ELITE company.

2021 OUTLOOK

I may be in the minority here, but I genuinely believe that Bracy is going to get his mojo back and play some great football. Having a change of scenery and (hopefully) no setbacks, he will emerge as one of the starting corners alongside Lewis. However, I am slotting Hart to be the next man in, and play on a rotational basis and possible even get involved in some nickel/dime scenarios. He is someone you want in the game during passing situations as he has a knack to be around the ball. I think he ends the season with around 5-6 PBUs with at least 1 pick, but my gut saying he finishes with 2. Hart has tons of upside, and it will be great to see his development entering only his second year as a corner.