Tag: mike mickens

Notre Dame Lands Big Time Cornerback Commitment

Notre Dame got some much-needed good news Tuesday afternoon after landing a commitment from top-20 CB Philip Riley from Florida.

The sting of missing out on the Will Shipley sweepstakes didn’t sting as hard, or at least not for as long as Notre Dame fans may have expected.  Less than an hour after Shipley announced his commitment to Clemson, Notre Dame landed a big-time commitment from cornerback Philip Riley.

What do you need to know about Philip Riley?

The four-star prospect attends Bloomingdale High School in Valrico, Florida but is originally from the state of Washington.  Riley had received 40 scholarship offers from the likes of Clemson, Florida State, Penn State, Texas and USC as well as plenty of others to give you an idea of how sought after he was.

This is a win for Notre Dame and an even bigger win for new defensive backs coach Mike Mickens who offered Riley a scholarship not even six weeks ago.  Mickens tweeted his excitement about Riley’s commitment shortly after it was announced.

Riley is the ninth commitment in Notre Dame’s 2021 recruiting class but the first corner back in the group. He joins safety Justin Walters of Bolingbrook, Illinois in the class of 2021’s secondary.

Watch: Brian Kelly Meets with Media Following First Spring Practice

Notre Dame Head Coach Brian Kelly meets with the media following the Irish’s first spring practice of 2020.

It’s official, the 2020 season has kicked off with the first spring practice, and Brian Kelly met with the media following the workout.

Kelly addressed many topics including the newest additions to his coaching staff in CB coach Mike Mickens and TE coach John McNulty, players who will be limited in spring as they nurse injuries, Kevin Austin’s potential, Ian Book’s leadership qualities and much more.

There is now a 12-day break between the next practice, which is scheduled on March 17th, St. Patrick’s Day, a fitting time for the Fighting Irish to get back on the field.

Former Brian Kelly Player is Notre Dame’s New DB Coach

Mike Mickens played under Kelly at Cincinnati and was a seventh round draft pick of the Dallas Cowboys after suffering a knee injury his senior year.

The long wait for Notre Dame football is over as the search to find Todd Lyght’s replacement as Defensive Backs Coach appears to have ended.

According to Pete Thamel of Yahoo! Sports, Lyght’s replacement comes in the form of a former Brian Kelly player.

Mike Mickens played under Kelly at Cincinnati and was a seventh round draft pick of the Dallas Cowboys after suffering a knee injury his senior year.

He has spent time coaching defensive backs at at Idaho and Indiana State before getting the corner back coaching job at Bowling Green from 2013-17.

He was then hired by Luke Fickell at Cincinnati where he spent the last two seasons.