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Mike Mickens has completely changed the fortunes of the Notre Dame secondary, and that continued over the weekend

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Ryan Roberts | Last updated Dec 2, 2024 11:19 AM ET

The job that Mike Mickens has done at Notre Dame can’t be understated. An accomplished cornerback coach at Cincinnati during his previous stop, Coach Mickens walked into a less than optimal situation with the Fighting Irish. The cornerback position was in a tough place, both on the field and from a recruiting perspective.

Fast forward a couple of years, and Coach Mickens has a great argument as the best cornerback coach in all of college football. This past offseason, Mickens also moved to a new role and took over the entire secondary. With what Coach Mickens has done with players like Cam Hart and Benjamin Morrison the last couple of years has been spectacular.

Even after Morrison, who was an All-American, was lost for the year with a hip injury, the cornerback position continues to be tremendous this season. We have seen breakouts from sophomore Christian Gray and freshman Leonard Moore, as well as safety Adon Shuler becoming a substantial performer alongside Xavier Watts.

The future in the secondary is a great place under Coach Mickens. We saw another massive step forward over the weekend, when the Irish secured a commitment from 2026 Chattanooga (Tenn.) McCallie School cornerback Chaston Smith.

COMMITTED ☘️☘️☘️☘️ @Marcus_Freeman1 @CoachMickens @samspiegs @JohnDBrice1 @ChadSimmons_ @SWiltfong_ @PennySmith_ @BuckFitz @Grade_aTraining pic.twitter.com/qtO5Re2aKN
— Chaz (@chastonsmith_4) December 1, 2024

Smith is considered a four-star recruit by both On3 and Rivals. The latter ranks him the highest, currently pegged as the No. 90 overall player and No. 7 cornerback in the 2026 recruiting class. On3 has him ranked as the No. 241 overall player and No. 18 cornerback in the class. Smith is ranked similarly on the On3 Industry ranking.

The offer list matches, and even exceeds the recruiting rankings for Smith. Some of the top schools that have offered him outside of Notre Dame include Alabama, Oregon, USC, LSU, Penn State, Florida, Michigan State, Texas A&M, Auburn, Clemson, Michigan, Tennessee, Nebraska, South Carolina, Ole Miss, Arkansas, West Virginia, Missouri, Wisconsin, Louisville, Virginia Tech, Kentucky, Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt, Indiana, and Purdue among others.

This is just the next potential star on the back end for the Irish. Closing on a player like Smith this early in the process is a big deal. Whatever it takes, Notre Dame needs to make sure that Coach Mickens sticks around in South Bend as long as possible, even if they need to name him the heir apparent to defensive coordinator Al Golden.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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