Tennessee native Chaz Smith embraces Notre Dame's "DB-U" tradition, soaking up veteran knowledge and refining his technique to forge his own success.
Notre Dame has produced some significant talent at the defensive backs position over the last several years and the 2026 freshman class looks to add to that legacy. It won't be easy to live up to the standard set forth by so many great players included multiple Unanimous All-Americans and NFL Draft picks. But the class of Joey O'Brien, Khary Adams, Ayden Pouncey, Nick Reddish and Chaz Smith is extremely talented and will look to continue that legacy.
For Smith, an early enrollee freshman cornerback, the recent track record of Notre Dame defensive backs has stood out to him. The 6-1, 163-pound Tennessee native factored that in when choosing the program he'd spend the next four to five years with.
"Just seeing the guys that came through like Leonard Moore, Ben Morrison, Cam Hart and Mark [Zackery] playing his freshman year, just all of those guys inspired me," Smith answered when asked if the rise of Notre Dame as 'DB-U' played a factor in his recruitment. "I just want to get developed and get better. Even the competition, really, just seeing everybody in the defensive back room and knowing I can get better meant a lot. Everybody's helping each other."
He's not wrong. When you enter a room with this much talent, the level of competition is extremely high, but as we all know, competition breeds success. Like many of the true freshman defensive backs before him, Smith is leaning on the veteran leadership in the room and is learning as much as he can before he takes the field for the first day of spring practice.
"His IQ of the game and just what he knows before the play happens," Smith explained on what makes Moore a different kind of player. "It's just a lot of film study and a lot of IQ behind it. He has been giving me the knowledge of what he knows and I'm just taking that in. That's something I've never seen before. It's something I'm new to, but I'm willing to learn just to get better."
Moore isn't the only cornerback that's stood out to him. Rising senior Christian Gray has also made a strong impression on the Knoxville native. Smith will be looking to model his game after both Gray and Moore throughout his time in South Bend.
"His technique and just the way he moves, he's a freak," Smith said about Gray. "Like the way he moves, I have never seen anybody move like him. So just stealing what he does and just stealing what Leonard does and just taking it all in and just making it into my own game is something I'm trying to do."
"I model my game after both of them," Smith continued about the two veteran cornerbacks. "I try to take what they do best in both and just make it into my own thing. I'm really just making what Leonard does and Christian does and am putting it all together."
Smith, the former four-star recruit by On3/Rivals and 247Sports is one of the more underrated players in the class because he was one of the first to commit to the Irish in the 2026 class. As of today, his name might not generate the same buzz as a Joey O'Brien or Khary Adams, but I guarantee it won't take long for Chaz Smith to become a household name amongst the Irish faithful.
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