What potential return of All-American Leonard Moore would mean for Notre Dame 

The No. 2 Notre Dame Fighting Irish have a massive game coming up in Week 7 against the No. 8-ranked BYU Cougars.

Notre Dame is currently 6-0 on the season, but the Irish have yet to play a ranked team. Meanwhile, BYU is 5-0 and has outscored its three Big 12 opponents so far, 69-37. 

The Cougars are also the home team in this one, so they have some advantages over Notre Dame despite being the lower-ranked team.

And yet, the Irish have to be feeling pretty good about themselves coming into this game, especially since All-American cornerback Leonard Moore is trending toward playing after missing Notre Dame's last game with a concussion.

Notre Dame is also ramping up defensive lineman Jason Onye, who has been out since the season opener against the Wisconsin Badgers with a left ankle injury.

According to head coach Marcus Freeman, both Moore and Onye have taken reps in practice, and it sounds like playing in this game against BYU is a real possibility for both guys.

"They both got some practice reps in the game plan," Freeman said, according to Adam Rittenberg of ESPN. "... If they keep trending in the direction they're going, we're expecting them to hopefully help us on Saturday."

Notre Dame may get back star CB Leonard Moore vs. BYU

Getting back Moore, in particular, would be huge for Notre Dame's defense.

From Rock Round, Texas, the junior was a first-team All-American in 2025 and was also named to several All-American teams as a freshman in 2024. 

So far at Notre Dame, he's picked off seven passes and has notched 22 pass breakups. That's not to mention three forced fumbles and 87 total tackles.

He hasn't snagged an interception yet this season, but five of his seven career picks came last season, so he's due for one if he can get healthy and stay healthy.

ESPN's matchup predictor favors Notre Dame in this one, 78.2 percent to 21.8 percent, and one would imagine getting Moore back, officially, would only tip those odds more in the favor of the Fighting Irish.