SOUTH BEND — Notre Dame football added two members of Michigan’s ill-fated 2025 operation this offseason.
First came sophomore cornerback Jayden Sanders via the transfer portal in early January. A few weeks later, linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary followed him to South Bend.
Any linkage?
“He came first,” Jean-Mary said after the Irish practice Sunday Aug. 16. “I was a little later. I was closer to February when I got here. I knew he was here. I was happy to see him once he got here. I knew he had a chance to be a high-end player.”
Now listed at 6-foot and 195 pounds, an inch shorter than Michigan had him, Sanders stepped in for a hobbled Leonard Moore in April and shined in the Blue-Gold Game.
The East Texas product of Kilgore (population 13,376) saw action in 12 games for the Wolverines, making two early-season starts against Central Michigan and Nebraska.
His father, Nick, was a first-team all-Mountain West cornerback at TCU, where he played from 2005-09. The elder Sanders finished with six interceptions, including a pick-six, as the Horned Frogs went 42-10 over his final four seasons.
Jayden Sanders is still looking for his first career interception, but it shouldn’t take too long in this ball-hawking Irish defense.
Whitney Clark, Sanders’ mother, ran track at the University of Houston.
“Know him well,” Jean-Mary said of Jayden Sanders. “He played some high-level minutes, and the first thing I start with (is) great parents. Both of his parents were collegiate athletes, and you see a little bit of that maturity coming from him.”
While Sanders projects as a rotational player for now, his length and coverage skill make him an obvious understudy for Moore once the All-American heads to the NFL after this season.
“The lights aren't too bright; that's what I saw from him,” Jean-Mary said. “As a freshman, he got thrown into some tough spots because of injuries at the last school he was at, and he played really, really well.”
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Quiet and businesslike: That's Jayden Sanders
Sanders, 19, tends toward the quiet side on and off the field, but his cerebral nature makes him intriguing.
“Not the most boisterous kid,” Jean-Mary said. “He's a kid that goes about his business. But you can see the flashes of the player that we think he can be. Obviously, that's why Notre Dame was so interested in him.”
Sanders has impressed defensive coordinator Chris Ash and co-DC Aaron Henry with his businesslike approach.
“He's been good,” Jean-Mary said. “If you just look at him, he's going to smile. He's just one of those kids that has the right mentality, and he’s fit in well with the guys that are here. That’s the best part.”
With Christian Gray moving to nickel, where sophomore Dallas Golden is a returning part-time starter, and Colorado transfer DJ McKinney stepping in at field corner, Sanders lacks a clear path to the playing field. That could change based on injuries and other factors.
“The character and the type of person and player he is, it's been a smooth transition coming here,” Jean-Mary said. “He feels like he's one of the guys.”
Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for the South Bend Tribune and NDInsider.com. Follow him on social media @MikeBerardino.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Notre Dame transfer DB Jayden Sanders has talent, genes to do big things