Notre Dame football: Cam Hart has 2023 first-round potential
By Brad Weiss
The Notre Dame football team needs a big season from Cam Hart in 2022, who could play his way into a first-round billing in the 2023 NFL Draft.
For a while during the 2021 college football season, the Notre Dame football team was one of the best in the country on the defensive side of the ball. In fact, they went a span of three games without allowing a touchdown and likely would have been four had they not taken their foot off the gas against Stanford in the season finale.
Overall, many players stood out, and stepped up, including Isaiah Foskey, a standout edge rusher who was an absolute playmaker for the defense. In the secondary, we saw the rise of Cam Hart, who became a legitimate CB1 and will be expected to anchor that position group this upcoming season.
As we head into the 2022 season, Hart and this secondary will be expected to once again step up in a big way, especially with Kyle Hamilton headed to the NFL. Hamilton is expected to be a first-round pick, and likely the first defensive back off the board, but could Hart follow him as a first-round pick in 2023?
Notre Dame football could see Cam Hart taken in the first round in 2023
Hart has the size, speed, and coverage ability of the kind of cornerback teams NFL scouts drool over and had he come out this year, he could have been a Day 2 pick. He emerged as a shutdown guy for the Irish last season, and with question marks within the rest of the position group, him taking the next step forward for the Irish next season is paramount.
If he does take that next step forward, a first-round tag could be in his future.
We have already discussed three other Irish who could be first-round picks in 2023, including Foskey, Jarrett Patterson, and tight end Michael Mayer. It could end up being a special draft class for the Irish, who have not had a first-round pick since 2019, and Hart could make it four.