Notre Dame CB Cam Hart Reportedly Limited in Practice
No official injury update is available on the junior corner until Marcus Freeman meets with media on Friday.
Notre Dame is already down three starts for Saturday’s Fiesta Bowl – Josh Lugg (RT), Kyren Williams (RB), Kyle Hamilton (S). It sounds as though there’s a chance they might be down a fourth based on practice reports out of Arizona on Wednesday. Starting corner Cam Hart was reportedly limited and seen limping around the practice field.
Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman isn’t scheduled to meet with the media again until Friday, so we likely won’t get official word until then. Still, obviously, this wouldn’t be ideal for Notre Dame, considering Hamilton is already missing from the Irish secondary as Notre Dame looks to end its painfully long major bowl losing streak against Oklahoma State.
Cam Hart emerged as a potential future star in the Irish secondary this year. He announced his arrival with a pair of interceptions against Wisconsin – both of which came before Graham Mertz started tossing them out like bags of Skittles on Halloween.
Senior Tariq Bracy was running with the first unit on defense in Hart’s place in practice Wednesday. Bracy has had an up and down career but started to find a niche as a nickel corner this year. A secondary featuring he and Clarence Lewis as the starting corners wouldn’t be ideal even against an Oklahoma State offense that has been wildly inconsistent this year.
Freshman Ryan Barnes made his first appearance in the Notre Dame two-deep depth chart earlier this week and would potentially be in line for snaps on Saturday if Hart cannot play. Notre Dame would also likely play even more of DJ Brown and Xavier Watts. Neither are listed as starters on the depth chart, but they figure to play a lot either way.
Frank Vitovitch has been Co-Owner and Editor in Chief of UHND.com since joining forces with Kyle Flavin in 1999. Since that time, he has written over 2,000 articles covering Notre Dame football, recruiting, and basketball. He also works with all staff and external writers on all articles published on UHND.com. Frank's love for Notre Dame football started at a young age watching Rocket Ismail give opposing coaches ulcers in the late 1980's. By day Frank works in marketing and holds a degree in Digital Media from Drexel University. Frank's work has been cited by online/print editions of NBC Sports, ESPN, and Sports Illustrated and has been quoted on air by ESPN's Collin Cowherd. He's conducted interviews with Notre Dame legends Rocket Ismail, Randy Kinder, Lee Becton, Reggie Brooks, Michael Stonebreaker, and Ned Bolcar among others over his 20+ years of covering Notre Dame football. He's also been published in the print edition of USA Today Sports Weekly and the USA Today College Football Preview multiple times. Other Published Works/Citations for Frank Three Reasons Notre Dame Will Beat Alabama - USA Today Notre Dame Suspends WR Kevin Stepherson, RB C.J. Holmes Indefinitely - Bleacher Report Notre Dame / Ohio State Fiesta Bowl Preview - Eleven Warriors Brace Yourself: The Fighting Irish are Relevant Again - Sports on Earth Interviews with the Enemy: A Q&A with Frank Vitovitch of UHND - Yahoo! Sports Five Good Minutes: Notre Dame Football Preview With UHND.com - BC Interruption Vicious Electronic Questioning with UHND - MGO Blog
I already had QB Ian Book on my mind because of his start this week.
But watching Iowa State’s Brock Purdy vs. Clemson today seemed like pure deja vu:
terrible accuracy on short passes, missing wide open receivers downfield, and a game-losing bonehead fumble running while holding the ball out like a loaf of bread.
So I guess he’s a draft pick.