Notre Dame Prospect Profile: CB Toriano Pride
One of the top cornerbacks on the board for Notre Dame in 2022 is St. Louis standout Toriano Pride.
TORIANO PRIDE PROFILE
Hometown: St. Louis, Mo.
High School: Lutheran North
Height: 5-11
Weight: 180
IB Grade: 4.0 (Top 150 caliber prospect)
Upside Grade: 4.5
Offers: Notre Dame, Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, Georgia, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Oregon, Penn State, Auburn, Florida State, Tennessee, Arkansas, Ole Miss, Oklahoma State, Missouri, Iowa, Iowa State, West Virginia, Purdue, Kentucky, Michigan State, Kansas State, Texas Tech, Minnesota, Illinois, Kansas
Recruited By: Mike Mickens
RECRUITING RANKINGS
Rivals: 4-star - No. 160 overall - No. 17 CB
247Sports: 3-star
Composite: 4-star - No. 240 overall - No. 27 CB
FILM ANALYSIS
Notre Dame is looking to continue improving its speed and man cover skills at cornerback, so it makes sense that Pride is a priority target. This is one of the fastest cornerbacks on the board for Notre Dame. Not only is Pride fast, with a strong burst and impressive long speed, he's a short strider, which I prefer in a defensive back.
Pride has the ability to hit a step and explode, whether it's running vertically as an offensive player, opening up in pursuit on defense or planting his foot in the ground and driving downhill on routes or the run game. This is a young man that plays the game fast, and those traits translate both inside and outside in modern defenses.
The Lutheran North standout is a sudden athlete, possessing excellent foot quickness and agility. He shows top-notch balance on offense, and his change of direction on defense is quick and decisive. He doesn't transition much in high school, but in the few instances where he has to flip he hips he looks clean and effective.
What stands out behind the athletic traits is how raw Pride is as a cornerback. He's a two-way standout in high school, and right now his dominance is based on pure athleticism. With more advanced coaching and more experience playing defense his game will improve, and when he commits fully to defense in college I expect his game to grow in a hurry. He's a good player now, but his upside is truly outstanding, and he should get there much sooner than later.
Footwork at the snap, when he opens and runs and playing the football on vertical routes all need to be addressed, but he has the physical tools to thrive in each area with work.
Pride isn't the biggest cornerback from a height and weight standpoint, but on film he looks to have well above average arm length for his size, which is even more important than pure height in a cornerback.
Related Content:
Notre Dame 2022 Class Big Board
GRADE KEY
5.0 - Elite player
4.5 - All-American caliber player
4.0 - Multi-year starter
3.5 - Key role player / Late career-starter
3.0 - Backup
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