New defensive backs coach Aaron Henry finds himself with an elite group, eager to refine existing talent and reach new heights this season.
Former defensive backs coach Mike Mickens left some pretty big shoes to fill, but what he left behind, was the most talented secondary from top to bottom in the country. Head coach Marcus Freeman looked to hire an experienced coach who had the capabilities of handling of room with this much explosive talent. He found that in former Illinois defensive coordinator Aaron Henry. Henry accepted the position earlier this offseason and, only after a short time, recognizes how talented this room is.
"They are really talented, and my goal and purpose isn't to change anything," Henry explained. "It's just to help tweak it, help refine it to help try to make it better. That's all I want to do. Credit to coach, to coach [Chris] Ash and Coach Mickens. They did an incredible job last year, but taking an opportunity like this it's not pressure. This is a luxury, to be honest with you. I think we all want have an opportunity to develop, to help coach and develop talent at this caliber. And we have some really talented players in our room."
With as much success as Mickens has had at Notre Dame throughout the years, its reasonable to question how Henry would be accepted amongst this veteran secondary. The leaders on this team, Adon Shuler specifically, welcomed the former Illinois coach with open arms; this unit is ready to work.
"They added me to a group chat and said, ‘Let's welcome our new DB coach' and I've never had that happen.," Henry explained. "I thought, okay, this place might be a little different. I thought that was really, really impressive. But they're just so eager to learn, just as a unit. Guys are constantly in my office; guys are constantly, popping up here all the time. Just their willingness and eagerness to grow in this scheme and knowing they got a new guy here that is still learning it is awesome."
One of the standout players in the secondary Henry will be working with is rising senior Christian Gray who will look to cap off his fourth and final season in South Bend with a bang. There were some rumblings about Gray being moved inside to nickel; Henry is more than confident in the St. Louis native's play-making abilities wherever he lines up on the field.
"I think with a guy as talented as him, I think you work him inside, you work him outside," Henry said. "You just try to give him the opportunity to just really showcase his ability, showcase his talent. Christian is a guy who's shown he can play outside. We may move him inside and see if he can do it. I think it's trying to find the best group of guys who give us the best chance to go out there and have success when we roll out the ball, whether it's spring practice or fall camp or the season."
The ceiling for this secondary unit is outstanding, and it's a level of talent Henry hasn't seen across the board during his coaching career. The opportunities are in front of them to be world-class football players, but what stood out to Henry the most is who these players strive to be outside of the game.
"They're so eager to learn, and I think that's what makes Notre Dame special," Henry explained. "These guys are intrinsically motivated, not to be just great football players, but to be great men. Some places, it's just all ball. These dudes are motivated to be great men and to have high character and the football piece for me comes relatively easy. If I can take a zero star recruit like Devon Witherspoon to help develop into a top-five draft pick, I only imagine what I could do with guys who are walking in here that are pretty highly talented."
-------
Be sure to stay locked into Irish Breakdown all the time!