Raise your hand if you knew anything about Mike Mickens when news came down back at the start of the new year that former Notre Dame star and secondary coach Todd Lyght was leaving his post.
Currently in the room I type this in my eight month old daughter didn’t raise her hand and my arms both stayed by my side after typing that, too.
I’m not afraid to say I knew nothing about the former Cincinnati Bearcats star when his name began to get mentioned as a potential candidate to replace Lyght, but Mickens has shown early that just because he might not have brought the name brand that Lance Taylor brought when he took over the running backs, it doesn’t mean he can’t make an immediate impact.
A simple glance at Notre Dame’s 2021 recruiting class now shows 13 commitments with four of those coming in the secondary after Chance Tucker announced his college decision on Wednesday.
Along with Tucker you find four-star corner Philip Riley, three-star corner Ryan Barnes and three-star safety Justin Walters. The corners were all offered by Mickens, who as Carter Karels of the South Bend Tribune points out, has had great success early in some incredibly unique times.
Mike Mickens has offered a scholarship to four 2021 corners since being hired as #NotreDame's CBs coach. Three of those four have pledged to ND.
Quite the hit rate, especially when considering there's a pandemic & all three have never taken an official or unofficial visit to ND.
— Carter Karels (@CarterKarels) July 22, 2020
The numbers alone speak volumes but when you factor in the pandemic and official visits not taking place it only makes his start with the Fighting Irish coaching staff that much more impressive.
Mickens had quite the resume in the actual coaching part of the job at Cincinnati. The Bearcats went from 113th nationally in defensive pass efficiency in 2017, a year before his arrival. The last two seasons saw Cincinnati finish all the way to the top 15 nationally with Mickens coaching the cornerbacks.
There are obviously no guarantees that will automatically translate but based off of what we’ve seen Mickens accomplish in some of the strangest times any of us have ever seen, his time at Notre Dame is clearly off to an outstanding start.