Notre Dame's shutdown cornerback dominates, leading the nation in crucial defensive metrics and earning prestigious All-America recognition.
Notre Dame standout sophomore cornerback Leonard Moore was named a 1st team All-American by the Associated Press. This is one of the five All-America teams that determines unanimous and consensus All-Americans; last week the Texas native was named to the Walter Camp All-American team. Moore put together an outstanding season and built upon his true freshman campaign in 2024. After his output this season, Moore was named as a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, the Bronko Nagurski Award, the Chuck Bednarik Award and the LOTT Impact Trophy which recognizes the nation's top defensive player who makes an impact on and off the field.
Notre Dame finished the season No. 1 in the country in total interceptions (21) with their star, standout cornerback hauling in five of them. Moore continued to stack performance after performance and was named the Walter Camp FBS Defensive Player of the Week and the Jim Thorpe Award Defensive Back of the Week for his performance against Boise State where he finished with two interceptions, his career high.
The 6-2, 195-pound cornerback finished the season with 31 total tackles, five interceptions which led the team, seven passes defended which was second on the team, a pick six, and a forced fumble. He remained a solid tackler in the secondary only missing six tackles the entire season and only allowed three receiving touchdowns all season long. Moore's performance this season played a major role in the defense's overall turnaround after the first three games.
The Texas native ranked 1st among all starting Power 4 cornerbacks in coverage grade (91.4) and 1st in overall defensive grades (90.9) according to PFF. Teams were well aware of Moore's abilities in coverage and was only targeted 11.5 percent of the coverage snaps he played.
Moore also ended his season on an extremely high note in his last opportunity to make an impression for some post season accolades. He finished the night in their 49-20 win over Stanford with an interception late in the second quarterback which set up a touchdown drive to put the Irish up 35-3 at halftime. Moore finished the night with three pass break-ups and five total tackles. It was shocking to watch Stanford's quarterback continually target Moore, but that was the result nonetheless.
Moore is expected to be the No. 1 cornerback in the country heading into next season. I believed he had that title entering this season after being named the 2024 FWAA Freshman Defensive Player of the Year and was named the No. 1 returning cornerback in college football by numerous outlets including PFF, CBS Sports, ESPN and the Associated Press. Moore will look to continue his dominance in 2026, which will likely be his final year at the collegiate level. Notre Dame has strung together outstanding cornerback play under Mike Mickens and Moore might be the best amongst them.
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