Notre Dame’s Future Star: Cornerback Khary Adams Commits

Notre Dame picked up a huge commitment when big time cornerback

Khary Adams

pledged to the Fighting Irish. It was a big recruiting win for Notre Dame, who is building yet another elite secondary class. Let’s take a look at the recruiting profile for Adams.

KHARY ADAMS PROFILE

Hometown/High School

: Towson, Md./Loyola Blakefield

Height/Weight

: 6-2, 180

IB Grade

: 4.0 (Top 100 caliber prospect)

Upside Grade

: 5.0 (Top 35 caliber prospect)

Player Comp

: Cam Hart, Notre Dame

Recruited By

: Mike Mickens

Offers

: Notre Dame, Clemson, LSU, Oregon, Florida State, Michigan, Penn State, USC, Tennessee, Miami (Fla.), Oklahoma, Auburn, South Carolina, Missouri, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, West Virginia, NC State, Kentucky, Virginia Tech, Syracuse, Virginia, Boston College, Pittsburgh, Indiana, Minnesota, Arizona, Maryland, Rutgers

RECRUITING RANKINGS

On3

: 4-star – No. 30 overall – No. 3 corner

247Sports

: 4-star – No. 36 overall – No. 3 corner

ESPN

: 4-star – No. 68 overall – No. 9 corner

Rivals

: 4-star – No. 246 overall – No. 19 corner

On3 Consensus

: 4-star – No. 67 overall – No. 8 corner

247Sports Composite

: 4-star – No. 75 overall – No. 9 corner

NOTRE DAME FIT

There are several attributes that

Mike Mickens

has consistently looked for at the cornerback position, and Adams grades out well in each of those areas. His combination of length, speed and football IQ all grade out well. He has all the tools you want in a high-level pure cover player. Mickens also likes two-way players and Adams is also an impact high school wide receiver. Adams has the range, cover instincts and tackling potential to thrive as a field cornerback. He also has the length, speed and instincts to grow into a dominant boundary cornerback. That positional flexibility is a big reason why Adams fits so well into the Notre Dame defense.

FILM ANALYSIS

The length that Mickens has added to the secondary in recent recruiting cycles has been incredibly impressive, and that continues with the pickup of Adams. At 6-2 he certainly has excellent height, but Adams also has the arm length to match. That makes him an incredibly difficult player to throw the ball over or around. Adams is on the lean side right now and he’s listed at 180 pounds, but he has a solid frame that reminds me a lot of former Notre Dame cornerback

Cam Hart

, who was 6-3 and skinny in high school but grew into a 205-pound player for the Irish. I could see Adams eventually getting to the 200-pound mark as well.

Adams is an excellent all-around athlete that has all the physical traits you want in a cornerback. He has top notch foot quickness and agility, which allows him to change direction with ease and impressive quickness. He can plant and drive on the football as well as any cornerback in the class. Adams has loose hips and transitions with ease as well, showing the kind of open-and-run skills you need to play man coverage. Adams also has elite speed, both from an initial quickness standpoint and second gear. When he commits to going full speed he gets to his top gear in a hurry, and his long speed is tremendous. He covers a ton of ground and he’s able to overcome mistakes much easier than most cornerbacks because of his combination of elite length and speed.

With Notre Dame potentially looking to play more zone coverage, Adams also needs to be able to handle that part of the game as well. One could argue that his unique skillset projects just as well to being a zone defender. His length and speed allows him to cover a ton of ground in off zone coverages (Cover 3, Cover 4), and his ability to redirect and close so well should allow him to be incredibly difficult to throw at in those zone looks. His length and foot quickness also gives him traits to be a difficult player to throw over in the tighter zone looks like Cover 2. That all-around ability is why his upside is so high.

Adams will need a lot of technical at the next level, which is why picking Notre Dame is such a good move for him. That’s where Mickens thrives, and Adams will benefit greatly from that tutelage. Adams gets by on elite talent right now, but he’s a two-way player for his high school, which makes it harder for him to master the technique at one spot. That’s not a knock on his prep coaching, as the coaches should absolutely use him both ways. It just means he’ll have more to learn once he focuses on one position. He’ll also need to learn to better use his length to his advantage when playing press and re-routing receivers.

Adams is a willing tackler but he’s more of a form tackler than a thumper like Hart or Moore. He’ll need to not only fill out but also improve his upper body strength. His play strength is one of the areas where he grades out the lowest. That will come in time as he gets into the college weight program and continues to physically mature. The fact he’s not afraid to stick his nose into traffic is important, because once the strength comes his impact in the run game will be much improved.

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