Loss Of Brandyn Hillman Increases The Need To Make A Move At Safety

Notre Dame suffered a crushing blow to an already thin safety depth chart when 2023 signee Brandyn Hillman announced he would not be enrolling this summer. Losing Hillman puts a major stress on the safety depth chart, and it must be followed by Notre Dame making a move at the position.

Notre Dame returns three veterans at the position in Xavier Watts, Ramon Henderson and DJ Brown. Watts has a chance to be a breakout player in 2023, and Henderson is a toolsy player that could also force his way into the starting lineup. Brown is more of a depth player, and although he adds value in many ways, if Notre Dame wants to put a championship defense on the field in 2023 they'll need to get better at the position.

Behind that trio you have oft-injured rising junior Justin Walters and a pair of freshmen, Adon Shuler and Ben Minich. A shoulder injury will keep Shuler out for the spring, which makes this position quite thin.

Notre Dame signed just two safeties in three seasons prior to the 2023 class, and one of those two players (Khari Gee) has already transferred out. Watts and Henderson were already moved over from another position, and another move is needed.

THOMAS HARPER OPTION

Notre Dame landed former Oklahoma State defensive back Thomas Harper this offseason, and the "easy" answer is having him take more snaps at safety.

Harper was listed as a safety at Oklahoma State, and as I've broken down before he has experience playing on the third level of the defense. That experience means Notre Dame could have him play as a true safety as well as his expected role at nickel.

The issue with making Harper a more permanent safety, or even splitting his reps more than already expected, is it could potentially weaken another position while not guaranteeing that Harper can provide high level play at the position. Harper made a name for himself as a nickel back, and that is where his game is ideally suited.

As a senior in 2022, Harper played 323 snaps in the slot or in the box (Pro Football Focus) and he played 12 snaps at cornerback, but he played just 61 snaps as a safety. For his career, Harper played 936 snaps at either nickel, cornerback or in the box, but he has just 204 career snaps at safety.

With Harper expected to be the starting nickel this year, and with Notre Dame's toughest opponents all being teams that will run a lot of 11 and 10 personnel, it would be unwise to risk hindering the nickel position to salvage the safety position.

MOVING CLARENCE LEWIS IS A MUST

There are three reasons why moving Clarence Lewis makes the most sense, even though up to this point the staff has been quite reluctant to do so.

Notre Dame is loaded at cornerback with veteran Cam Hart and Freshman All-American Benjamin Morrison returning to the starting lineup. Notre Dame also returns rising sophomore Jaden Mickey and rising juniors Chance Tucker and Ryan Barnes, who provide quality depth to the position. Notre Dame also welcomes talented freshman Christian Gray this spring and speedster Micah Bell this summer.

Lewis is an important part of the cornerback depth chart, but he's not a starter, and moving him would simply open up opportunities for talented younger players. So it not only would help the safety depth chart, it would allow cornerbacks coach Mike Mickens to work players like Tucker, Barnes and the freshmen into the rotation.

The final reason to move Lewis to safety is that he could be really good at it, and it would put him at the position where he has the best chance to make it as a professional when his Notre Dame career is over. That makes this move not only good for Notre Dame by moving a veteran player with the skillset that fits the position quite well, it also is best for the young man by allowing him to develop at a position that is best for his present and future. It also means Notre Dame doesn't have to worry as much about getting Harper work at the position.

I really don't see any downside to moving Lewis to safety, and it's something the staff should do at the beginning of spring practice. Doing so would go a very, very long way towards solidifying the safety depth chart without doing damage to the cornerback unit.

EYES ON THE TRANSFER PORTAL

Of course, Notre Dame could keep Lewis at cornerback and instead focus on the transfer portal. There will be safeties in the portal when spring practice is over, but there's no guarantee they can land a player that could really move the needle at safety, or give more than what Lewis could provide to the position.

The other issue is that it doesn't really help during the spring, and whoever they would land at safety would not get reps during the spring. Moving Lewis, however, would give the staff and Lewis an entire spring to get him ready to go before getting to summer workouts and fall camp.

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