Tall, long, and fast, DJ McKinney brings proven coverage skills and physicality to Notre Dame's secondary. A dynamic corner ready to make an impact.
Notre Dame returns a talented secondary in 2026 but the Irish coaching staff has added even more talent and experience to the room by landing Colorado transfer corner DJ McKinney. The Texas native is entering his fifth and final season in college football and he'll spend it playing with the Irish.
Let's look at the scouting report for McKinney.
School: Colorado
Height/Weight: 6-2, 180
Class/Eligibility: 5th/5th
2025 Stats: 35 tackles, 1 INT, 5 break ups
2024 Stats: 62 tackles, 3 INT (1 TD), 9 break ups, 1 FF
2023 Stats: 38 tackles, 5 break ups
Analysis: We all know that Mike Mickens loves tall, long, fast cornerbacks and that's what Notre Dame got in McKinney. He's 6-2 and very long, which from a frame standpoint makes him a good fit in the Irish defense. McKinney is listed at just 180 pounds but he plays with good strength. He's a quality tackler that is willing to deliver good hits on backs, to get off blocks and he plays with some physicality working downfield in coverage.
McKinney shows impressive speed on film, which combines quite well with his length to allow him to cover a lot of ground. By impressive speed I don't just mean he's long and rangy, which allows him to cover a lot of ground. McKinney certainly has that, but he also has legit long speed. McKinney shows relatively smooth hips and the ability to quickly flip his hips and get vertical. His change of direction skills are good and he can do everything movement wise that Notre Dame needs from its cornerbacks to play at a high level.
As a cover player he combines all that length and athleticism with a good feel for the position. He's instinctive, he uses his length to get his hands on a lot of throws (14 break ups the last two seasons) and he uses his range to drive on the ball well. He understands angles and leverage once he gets down the field and his mirror skills are impressive. McKinney has some footwork issues in press man and when planting and driving in Cover 3 that need to be improved. He'll also struggle at times with a good receiver stem that goes at his leverage, causing him to overplay the top end move. He'll need to clean that up at Notre Dame.
Overall, McKinney is very talented from a size and athleticism standpoint, and his feel for the coverage game is quite good. He's a willing tackler, usually, but he doesn't always take good angles to the ball and his effort can be a bit inconsistent. He was much better in this area in 2024 than he was in 2025, so I question if he was fully healthy this season. There is a lot of talent here to work with, and getting a year to work with someone like Mickens could pay huge dividends for him.
Notre Dame Fit: Colorado plays their cornerbacks left-right, which means McKinney has played both field and boundary at times. He's spent the vast majority of his 2,000-plus career snaps playing outside, although he does have a handful of slot snaps in his career. For Notre Dame, I expect McKinney to play field cornerback, although he has the tools to play in the boundary if the need arises. I could see him fitting in at nickel in certain situations, but I prefer him to be an outside cornerback.
At Colorado he played a combination of man and zone, and with Notre Dame looking to utilize more zone under Chris Ash this experience could prove helpful. Mickens likes instinctive corners that get their hands on a lot of passes and McKinney certainly has those skills. If he can be more consistent with his technique and focus he has a chance to be quite impactful as either a starter at field cornerback or as a top rotation player.
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