Notre Dame: 3 reasons Irish may have the best safeties nationally in ’20

You would think Notre Dame should be concerned about its safety corps next season, as they are set to lose both Alohi Gilman and Jalen Elliot to the NFL. However, due to excellent recruiting and a high profile transfer to the program, the Irish may have one of the best safety groups in all of college football in 2020.

Here are the three players who represent the highest rated safety group in a long time for Notre Dame:

Houston Griffith

Griffith was the highest-rated player in Notre Dame’s 2018 draft class. The four-star recruit was ranked as the No. 4 safety and No. 43 prospect overall for the 2018 recruiting class.

The 6’1″, 205 pound Griffith is an excellent tackler who possesses ideal size for the safety position. Initially, the Irish planned on using Griffith as a cornerback, but his lack of elite speed may make him better suited for the safety position. His length and size allow him to match up well against bigger receivers. However, as a cornerback, he struggled with getting beat on deep balls.

While his usage has diminished versus last year, the sophomore did play in the Michigan, Duke and Navy games, where he accumulated a total of five tackles for the season. Given his good tackling skills and above average coverage ability, it is likely that Griffith finds himself in the safety rotation, as well as featured in the nickel role next season.