How Cam Hart, Brandon Joseph have approached leadership in the Notre Dame DB room

The questions for the 2022 Notre Dame football team on the defensive side of the ball are easy to pinpoint but difficult to answer. Will the secondary — particularly the corners — improve this year and who will replace first-round NFL Draft pick Kyle Hamilton at safety?

For rising sophomore corner Ryan Barnes, the leadership portion of this puzzle is already largely solved, a good sign for cornerbacks coach Mike Mickens and safeties coach Chris O’Leary.

Last week, Barnes joined a Twitter Space hosted by the Irish Players Club and dove into the roles fourth-year players Cam Hart and Brandon Joseph are already playing for the Irish secondary.

“Cam Hart is one of those guys, and he’s actually from my area,” Barnes said in response to a question concerning if any particular players in his position group push him to new limits. “In middle school, I was getting recruited go to his high school. I remember they invited me to a game to come out and watch him play. We would walk to the huddle. During halftime, he walked with me just talking.”

Hart went to Olney (Md.) Good Counsel, while Barnes went to Gaithersburg (Md.) Quince Orchard just 15 miles away. They were two years apart in high school.

“He’s done nothing but the same thing (at Notre Dame),” Barnes added. “He doesn’t want anything but the best for any of the guys in the room. If he sees you lacking, he’s going to let you know.

“He wants to be great. He wants everybody around him to be great. That’s the kind of player I want to be — not only be successful for myself but be successful for my teammates.”

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Despite numerous shoulder problems and surgeries since high school — one of which kept him very limited in this year’s spring practice — Hart has become one of the better corners in the country over three seasons in South Bend. According to his On3 profile, the 6-2 1/2, 205-pound defensive back has a four-star On3 College Rating, which is given to top-300 players for their performances at the college level. He is the No. 216 player nationally and No. 24 cornerback.

Hart had 41 tackles, seven passes defended and two interceptions in 2021. He will look to build upon those numbers in 2022, both for the Irish and to elevate his body of work for NFL scouts.

Despite transfer status, Joseph already fits in as a mentor

While he has yet to take the field for the the blue and gold, Joseph undeniably made a huge impact on the gridiron in three seasons (two with playing time) at Northwestern. The 6-1, 192-pound safety is now finishing out his undergraduate career at Notre Dame, attempting to augment his NFL Draft status and ultimately win a national championship.

“I feel like he’s done a great job of coming in and bringing his experience from another school,” Barnes said. “There may be a play where I could have done one or two things better, and he’ll come to me, he’ll explain it to me, we’ll go watch film about it.

“I feel like he’s done a great job of being an older guy and really shining on the younger guys, having that experience and being able to teach us the things that other people may not see or may not have experienced. He’s done nothing but a great job.”

Joseph was a 2020 All-American safety, notching a Power Five-high six interceptions in his sophomore year. He recorded 79 tackles and three picks last season and will look to top those numbers in South Bend. Joseph was ranked the No. 24 transfer in the country by On3 this year.

It’s clear Hart and Joseph have made an impact during spring practice and in the locker room. The true volume of their impact will be made visible on the field this fall, both by watching them and mentees like Barnes.