Each has his role. Each has his nickname. And each has lent a firm hand to Notre Dame’s 6-0 start.

For how intriguing Carlyle Holiday’s left should may be and for how jaw-dropping Justin Tuck’s speed may be, neither has played as big a part in Notre Dame’s sooner-than-later return to glory than the starting secondary. With four returning starters the unit was billed as Notre Dame’s best defensive backfield in nearly a decade. Six games and 10 interceptions into 2002, this group looks like it might be better.

Not that they’ll tell you.

“If we lose a game there’s going to be no more hype and we have to go back to the drawing board,” said safety Gerome Sapp. “We still have six games to play before we can say we’re one of the best teams at Notre Dame ever.”

Already this secondary is one of program’s most intriguing. Sapp has developed into the all-around leader. Safety Glenn Earl is the head hunter. Cornerback Shane Walton is the coach on the field, while corner Vontez Duff is the ultra-athletic junior with the most NFL potential.

“I think the first thing you have to do is recognize how similar they are in terms of the intensity with which they play and the competitiveness with which they play,” said Tyrone Willingham.

The next step is to recognize the position coach that’s helped get the secondary performing to these optimum levels. >From the day he took over as defensive backs coach, Trent Walters has preached to his ball-hawking parishioners the need to eagerly carry a game’s outcome on their shoulders. Against Purdue, Michigan, Michigan State and Pittsburgh that’s exactly what happened, with interceptions ending the last-minutes threats for all four teams.

“We want the burden to be on our shoulders to win or lose the game,” Walters said. “We talk on the sidelines about we need to go out and get a turnover. Usually that series or the next drive something will happen. When you expect good things to happen, they usually happen.”

Attitude aside, Walters’ contribution to the secondary extends well beyond mental make-ups, although one couldn’t help but notice that he toughed out brisk temperatures during Wednesday’s practice by wearing shorts. Walters’ nine years in the NFL has not only given him a wealth of knowledge when it comes to teaching technique, but his experience in the professional ranks has also won him instant credibility with players looking get there.

“The biggest thing is they’ve bought into everything we’ve tried to get them to do,” Walters said. “You talk to them about perfecting technique and we impress upon them that technique is the only security that you have when you play out on an island. When things go awry and you go back and see where you broke down, usually it’s in your technique. If you know your technique you can correct it real fast.”

Of course halfway through Walters’ first season in South Bend, those corrections have been few and far between.