Thanks to injuries to several key players on Notre Dame's defense, the Fighting Irish have had to put Marcus Freeman's "next man up" mantra to the test over and over. So far, the ridiculous depth the team has has meant that every time someone goes down, another steps in with a fantastic performance.
Defensive back Jayden Sanders is the latest defender to step into a void left by an all-world starter and play well enough that it was like Leonard Moore was still there. In the process, Sanders showed that he can be a big bonus defender for the Golden Domers for the rest of the way and he's started to prove he belongs in South Bend after transferring to the program from Michigan this winter.
Sanders got the start for Notre Dame against Stanford because Leonard Moore sat out after suffering a concussion late in the game last week against North Carolina. Moore was listed as questionable for most of the week, but the Irish decided it was in his best interest to wait it out and try to get ready for next week's game against No. 8 BYU.
Sanders made the most of his opportunity on Saturday, tying for the team lead in defensive snaps with 39 and posting an 86.3 overall grade, according to Pro Football Focus.
Jayden Sanders earns 86.3 PFF grade replacing Leonard Moore for Notre Dame football
The defensive back talked after the game about how he knew when he transferred to Notre Dame, he knew he'd have to compete. The competition never bothered him because he's always had the opinion that fighting for a job and a position only makes everyone better.
“I come from a high school where we have something when you walk in, it says, ‘Iron sharpens iron.’ So just me in this great DB room that I keep speaking about and keep coming up. I feel like they challenge me every day, and the receivers on the other side of the ball do too. I feel like both rooms are very good, and we challenge each other to be the best every day.”
Sanders didn't light up the scoresheet; he had just one tackle. However, he also had two pass breakups, and his lack of big stats came because he locked down his side of the field much in the same way that Moore has done all season. Sanders was targeted 4 times and allowed just 1 catch for 5 yards.
Notre Dame certainly hopes that Moore will be back for the game in Provo next Saturday. However, if he's still not recovered from his concussion, it looks like the Irish are in good hands with Jayden Sanders.
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