Notre Dame cornerback Cam Hart to enter 2024 NFL Draft
One of Notre Dame’s best defensive players is off to the next level. Graduate student corner Cam Hart announced his decision to enter the 2024 NFL Draft on Wednesday night.
One of four 2023 team captains, Hart started every game for the Irish this season. He played 572 snaps, which ranked sixth among all Irish defensive players. He had the team’s fourth-best overall defensive grade per Pro Football Focus.
Hart was more than the numbers. He was a source of inspiration for teammates. His story at Notre Dame was one of perseverance. He arrived in South Bend as a wide receiver. He only played in three games as a true freshman in 2019 before injuring his shoulder. Since then, he’s been one of of the Irish’s most trusted players.
“I am profoundly grateful for the life-shaping brotherhood I found here,” Hart said in a social media statement. “From the first moment on campus, I felt the power of this special place. I forged bonds here that I know will last a lifetime.”
A 10-game starter in 2021, Hart recorded his first two career interceptions in Notre Dame’s Shamrock series win against Wisconsin at Soldier Field. Hart was also a 10-game starter in 2022. He finally achieved relative full-health in 2023, and he played in every regular season game for the first time in his career as a result. That had to have felt good for a guy who couldn’t shake the injury bug previously.
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Hart has his health, and he has his Notre Dame degree in hand. Team captaincy is a draw for every Irish player who sticks around for this long, and he lived that out as well. There really isn’t much individual gain to be had by Hart if he returned to South Bend. Of course, he didn’t win an elusive national title with the Irish. But nobody has since 1988. The Irish aren’t favored to end the drought in Hart’s potential sixth season. The NFL is calling, and Hart is picking up the phone.
That said, Hart was not ranked among 26 cornerbacks listed in Pro Football Focus position rankings as of Dec. 5. PFF ranked corners starting with Alabama’s Kool-Aid McKinistry as the No. 12 overall prospect in the draft all the way down to Central Michigan’s Donte Kent at No. 275, and Hart was not included.
It might have just been oversight on PFF’s part; Bleacher Report rated Hart as the No. 77 overall draft prospect, which would give him a chance for his name to be called in the late stages of day two. He’s definitely earned that kind of chance.
“My time here has shaped who I am and given me confidence to pursue my NFL dreams,” he said in his statement. “As I embark on this next chapter, I will represent my Notre Dame family with integrity, grit and humility.”
