Notre Dame's Mike Mickens Earns Hall of Fame Honor from Alma Mater

Before being an outstanding coach, Mike Mickens was a baller at Cincinnati

Notre Dame cornerbacks coach Mike Mickens speaks to former Irish cornerback TaRiq Bracy Saturday, March 25, 2023, at Notre Dame spring football practice in South Bend | Greg Swiercz / USA TODAY NETWORK

Notre Dame defensive backs coach Mike Mickens is one of the best at what he does, heading what has become one of the nation's top secondaries in college football annually. It's easy to get caught in the moment and forget that before becoming an elite assistant coach, Mickens was an outstanding defensive back himself.

Mickens was recently named to the University of Cincinnati's Athletics Hall of Fame for the 2025 class. Mickens is one of six former Bearcats to be elected this year, joining former Cincinnati Tony Pike in the class.

Your 2025 James P. Kelly UC Athletics Hall of Fame Class:

⚽️ Meridy Glenn (1984–2007)
🏈 Tom Marvaso (1973–75)
🏈 Mike Mickens (2005-08)
🏐 Jessie Nevitt (2005–08)
🏈 Tony Pike (2004-09)
🏀 KB Sharp (1999–2003)

📝: https://t.co/f7uilS4Zjl pic.twitter.com/oCgMDi7DkI

— Cincinnati Bearcats (@GoBEARCATS) August 4, 2025

Mickens was one of the best defensive players to ever wear a Bearcats uniform, intercepting a program record 14 passes during his four years, while returning them for a combined 296 yards and four touchdowns.

Mickens was a 2008 Playboy and FWAA All-American and a semi-finalist for the 2008 Jim Thorpe Award, which goes annually to the nation's top defensive back.

Mike Mickens' Path to Notre Dame

So how did Mike Mickens go from being one of the nation's top defensive backs to a key assistant coach at Notre Dame?

Mickens starred at Wayne High School in Dayton, Ohio, where he was teammates with Marcus Freeman. Despite starring for the Bearcats, Mickens suffered a knee injury late in college that took him from possibly being a first-round NFL draft pick to having his name called in the seventh round of the 2009 draft, by the Dallas Cowboys.

Mickens bounced around the NFL with stops in Dallas, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2009, but never caught on in the league.

Mickens then transitioned to coaching, beginning that part of his football career back at the University of Cincinnati. He worked his way up with stops at Indiana State, Idaho, and Bowling Green before returning to Cincinnati as the cornerbacks coach in 2018.

Cincinnati Bearcats cornerbacks coach and former player Mike Mickens, left, instruct the secondary in the fourth quarter of a college football game against the Ohio State Buckeyes, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2019, at Ohio Stadium in Columbus. The Ohio State Buckeyes won 42-0 | Kareem Elgazzar, Cincinnati Enquirer via Imagn Content Services, LLC

After two successful seasons there, and mentoring now NFL star Sauce Gardner, Mickens accepted an offer to coach cornerbacks at Notre Dame. He's helped develop some of the nation's best defensive backs in that time and is currently one of Notre Dame's most important coaches on the staff both in recruiting and in development.

Mickens and the Notre Dame secondary are in the early parts of fall camp now and will be tested on opening weekend 2025 as they travel to Miami to take on star-transfer quarterback Carson Beck and the rest of the Miami Hurricanes football team.