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What's Next: Moving On At Cornerback

A look at what the loss of Landen Bartleson at cornerback means for Notre Dame

After his arrest this week, Notre Dame decided to move on from 2020 cornerback signee Landen Bartleson. This development presents a big loss for Notre Dame, but an even bigger loss for Bartleson, whose life has taken a dramatically different turn.

For Notre Dame, the loss of Bartleson will impact the program in a number of ways and will require defensive coordinator Clark Lea and the staff to adjust the plan moving forward. Let's look at all of those layers.

2020 TEAM IMPACT

Once you get past rising junior TaRiq Bracy and talented, but oft-injured sixth-year senior Shaun Crawford there are major question marks at cornerback for Lea and the Irish defense.. Bartleson was my highest graded cornerback in the 2020 class, but he was also a raw player that likely needed time before he would make an impact at Notre Dame.

Losing Bartleson is more about losing a possible future standout - if he developed - than it is about suffering a big loss to the 2020 depth chart. Bartleson did provide length, athleticism and depth at a position that desperately needed it, but the addition of Clarence Lewis and Ramon Henderson in the 2020 class gives Notre Dame six scholarship cornerbacks in 2020, which is the same number the Irish had in 2019.

The difference from 2019 to 2020 at cornerback isn't about numbers or upside, it's about experience. The loss of Bartleson doesn't move the needle in this regard. 

Adding a graduate transfer for 2020 is something the staff will likely look hard at if a player that fits is out there, but that would have been true before Bartleson's recent arrest. Where losing Bartleson can impact the program in 2020 is that it means there's one less scholarship towards the 85 count, which gives the coaches a bit more leeway to add a graduate transfer, should one arise. 

It also gives the Irish staff a bit more room to work with should it decide to make a hard push for Muskegon (Mich.) athlete Cameron Martinez, an Ohio State commit that did not sign in December. With Notre Dame already facing a numbers crunch it would have been hard to pursue Martinez, but should the staff try to make another hard run at him there would be more room for him now.

If Notre Dame doesn't add a graduate transfer the loss of Bartleson puts the Irish at 86 scholarships for 2020, based on what we know publicly. If the Irish keep former walk-on offensive lineman Colin Grunhard and running back Mick Assaf on scholarship that puts the number at 88.

FUTURE RECRUITING ADJUSTMENT

The loss of Bartleson is more about impacting the program in the future. Notre Dame is down a future corner, which makes the position even more important in 2021. An argument could be made it was already the most important position of need in the 2021 class, and now it becomes even more so.

Bartleson was just a three-star recruit according to the services, but the Notre Dame staff was extremely high on him as a player. He was viewed as a player with an incredibly high ceiling due to his combination of length, speed and athleticism. That won't be easily replaced.

It becomes even more imperative that Notre Dame land two top-talent cornerbacks in the 2021 class.

From a pure numbers standpoint the Irish are still in good shape. They only lose Crawford after the 2020 season, and Henderson, Lewis, KJ Wallace, Cam Hart and Isaiah Rutherford all have eligibility through the 2023 season.

Where the loss of Bartleson hurts is it greatly narrows the margin for error at cornerback. There is a lot of length, athleticism and talent in the group I just mentioned, and if the majority of those players pan out the Irish will be just fine, assuming they keep adding good players in future classes.

The issue, however, is the majority of the corners on the roster are low-floor/high-ceiling players. Their high-ceiling upside gives the defense a chance to be loaded at the position, but when you have that many low-floor players your chances at having depth issues in spite of numbers becomes greater. This becomes even more impactful if any kind of injury happens at the position.

That means Notre Dame's 2021 emphasis isn't just on numbers, because the numbers don't really change. The emphasis now is even greater on landing players that not only having higher ceilings, but players that also have higher floors. 

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