Two Notre Dame Stars Selected To AP Midseason All-America Teams

We're at the halfway point in the regular season which means a lot of the postseason awards and All-America teams start releasing their midseason watch lists. Today, star cornerback Leonard Moore and stud defensive end Boubacar Traore were named to the Associated Press' Midseason All-America teams. 

Moore was named a 1st-team midseason All-America selection. The 6-2, 197-pound Texas native has been targeted 13 times this season through five games. Moore missed the Stanford game with a concussion but it projected to return this weekend in their Top 10 road matchup with the undefeated and 8th-ranked BYU Cougars. 

The star defensive back was a Unanimous All-American last year and is putting together a solid campaign to repeat that honor in 2026. So far this season, Moore has four pass break ups and eight solo tackles. The Texas native has also been named to the Wuerffel Trophy Semifinalist list and to the AllState AFCA Good Works Team. The star corner will also likely make the semifinalist list for the Bronko Nagurski Award, the Jim Thorpe Award and several other midseason All-America teams. 

Traore, the other AP All-America midseason selection was named to the 2nd team. The 6-5, 253-pound edge rusher had a breakout season in 2025 and is continuing to build on that this fall. The Boston, Massachusetts native leads the team with 3.5 sacks, 5.5 tackles for a loss, two forced fumbles and eight quarterback hurries.

Traore has been a dominant force on the edge and has played a key role in forcing and creating turnovers having recorded an interception, along with an impressive return, in their previous outing against the Stanford Cardinal. In last Saturday's win over Stanford, Traore became the first Notre Dame player since 1998 to have both a strip sack and an interception in the same game. 

These two outstanding players have both played a role in Notre Dame's dominant defensive play through the first six games of the season. They currently rank 7th in the country in points allowed (11.8), 1st in the country in yards allowed (216.4), 4th in the country in yards per play allowed (4.0), 4th in the country in rushing touchdowns allowed (58.4) and 4th in the country in turnovers gained (11). 

Two Notre Dame opponents also have members that were selected to the Associated Press Midseason All-America teams. North Carolina defensive tackle Xavier Lewis was named to the 1st team. Notre Dame squared off with the Tar Heel defense a few weeks prior and put together their most impressive offensive performance of the season. 

The other selection from Notre Dame's opponents was Miami wide receiver Malachi Toney who has been one of the most dominant pass catchers in the nation. The matchup between Toney and Moore, two AP Midseason All-Americans, will be one to watch on Saturday November 7 in South Bend. 

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