Former Michigan corner Jayden Sanders brings length and athleticism. His freshman film showcases route recognition and zone coverage skills, making him a potent addition.
Notre Dame returns a deep and talented secondary, but the Irish staff decided it wanted to add even more talent and length to the room. One of the prospects the Irish landed in the portal is former Michigan cornerback Jayden Sanders. Sanders played over 300 snaps as a true freshman for the Wolverines, including making a pair of starts.
Let's look at the scouting report for Sanders.
School: Michigan
Height/Weight: 6-1, 193
Class/Eligibility: Sophomore/Sophomore
2025 Stats: 23 tackles, 1 break up - 5.7 yards per target (PFF) - 8.3 yards per reception (PFF)
Analysis: Sanders quickly pushed his way into the cornerback rotation at Michigan, getting action in the season opener and playing in 12 games. Sanders made two starts as a rookie, with his first coming against Central Michigan and his second against Nebraska. Notre Dame likes cornerbacks with length, and Sanders has that. He's listed at 6-1 and his length appears to be at least above average on film, if not better. For a freshman he showed an impressive willingness to come downhill against the run and perimeter throws/screen game. He was a sound tackler most of the season, but he did have a few big misses late in the season. The tools are there for him to be a strong open field tackler and run defender, and he's a quality tackler in space.
Michigan runs mostly zone coverages, and Sanders will come to Notre Dame with experience playing a lot of Cover 3 with a little bit of Cover 2 looks. He spent most of the season playing off the ball, so there isn't a lot of film of him coming up and playing in press situations. What he showed was a smooth athletic profile. Sanders is clean and smooth athletically, showing an efficient pedal, really crisp transition skills when working deep and he can plant and drive downhill efficiently and quickly. He shows adequate speed on the back end, but with him playing off coverage so much there aren't a ton of snaps where he's able to just cut it loose vertically. But the range is good and he makes the most of his athletic skills.
What I was most impressed with was the football IQ and feel for the defense that he showed as a rookie. Sanders shows really impressive route recognition for a freshman, and I like how well he jumps in breaking routes and how well he plays over the top. Michigan asks cornerbacks and safeties to communicate a lot and execute post-snap switches, and his decision making here is really impressive for such a young player. He understands the importance of angles and leverage in coverage, and with more experience I think he can be a guy that can his hands on a lot more passes in a defense that allows him to play more aggressively.
Notre Dame Fit: As I mentioned above, Sanders has experience playing both field and boundary. In the Notre Dame defense he fits best at the field position. Last season we saw the field cornerback play off coverage a lot more, and with Notre Dame wanting to play more zone defense he has the length, range and instincts to thrive in those looks. As he gets more experience I think you'll see him make a bit quicker decisions getting to the football, which should help him be a bit more disruptive. He was recruited to play cornerback, but with his size, range and tackling potential I could also see him fitting in well at safety. Sanders played some special teams last season and that's an area where I could see him helping out quite a bit at Notre Dame.
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