The Florida native’s rapid technical evolution gives the Irish a versatile weapon, bridging the gap between raw athleticism and elite coverage for a championship-caliber secondary.
Notre Dame is poised to have one of the best secondaries in college football this season. They return the No. 1 cornerback in the nation in Leonard Moore who was a Unanimous All-American as a true sophomore. The Irish also bring back cornerback Christian Gray who is a very talented, soon-to-be three-year starter and the best safety duo in the country in Tae Johnson and Adon Shuler who was a captain on the 2025 team.
They're also bringing in DJ McKinney from Colorado who was a two-year starter for the Buffalos from 2024-2025. The outlook of the backend of Notre Dame's defense is looking exceptionally high, but there's a rising sophomore that could take this unit to new heights, and he fits at multiple positions.
As a true freshman Dallas Golden played in 10 games, started three of them and played 311 snaps. He recorded 22 tackles, two pass breakups and one interception. The Florida native started in three games this season including Purdue at home, NC State at home and USC at home. He progressed rapidly as the season went on, but at the time, it was evident that he was a very talented and athletic player playing defensive back.
This spring, Golden took the next step and went from a very talented freshman playing defensive back to a very talented defensive back playing corner. His technique grew and he was much more fundamentally sound. Golden took reps at both nickel and field corner; at nickel he rotated with Gray and Michigan transfer Jayden Sanders who also had a strong spring in the slot.
Golden also took a good amount of reps at the field corner position this spring since McKinney won't be on campus until the summer. The 6-0, 191-pound Florida native was really starting to turn up the heat this spring but had to miss the rest of training due to a minor back injury. We didn't get to see him in the jersey scrimmage and didn't get to see him in the Blue-Gold game.
The biggest question heading into the bulk of the offseason is where they'll play him. In 2025, out of the 311 total defensive snaps he played, Golden lined up in the slot 230 times. This spring, he looked to be one of their strongest candidates at nickel, but Gray and Sanders also had really good springs in the slot as well. Golden also showcased his abilities as an outside field corner as well.
At the start of spring, we talked about the impact of Golden's emergence and we're starting to see that effect take shape. He has the ability to start in the slot, spell one of Gray or Sanders in the slot and spell McKinney or even start to the field. Experienced depth in the secondary, especially at corner, is something Notre Dame hasn't had in bulk over the last couple of seasons. Golden can provide that for this year's championship-caliber secondary.
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