Notre Dame Football: Top 5 prospects for 2020 NFL Draft

ARLINGTON, TEXAS - DECEMBER 29: Khalid Kareem #53 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish reacts with Adetokunbo Ogundeji #91 after a play in the first half against the Clemson Tigers during the College Football Playoff Semifinal Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic at AT&T Stadium on December 29, 2018 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

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(Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

3. Troy Pride Jr., CB

One of the most underrated players on the Notre Dame defense in 2018, incoming senior Troy Pride Jr. played across the field from Love in what turned out to be an All-American year for the latter. Understandably, Pride spent the majority of the year under the radar with Love garnering attention as one of the nation’s best corners.

However, Irish fans would soon develop a heightened appreciation for Pride’s consistency in the wake of Donte Vaughn’s subpar fill-in for Love in the Clemson game. While Pride has opted to stay put at field corner, he will undoubtedly remain the Irish’s top cornerback in 2019. Love did set some lofty expectations, but there’s reason to believe Pride will quickly rise to the occasion.

NFL teams are almost always looking for corner depth regardless of where they may stand at the position, giving Pride a good chance to carve out some sort of role for himself on an NFL squad should he manage to build even further upon a solid 2018 season.

All things considered, it’ll be pretty difficult for Pride to match Love’s 2018 season. However, another productive year as the Irish’s number one option at cornerback could put him in line to earn some looks from NFL teams in the later rounds.

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