39 days until Notre Dame football: Can Clarence Lewis earn a starting job?
Senior defensive back Clarence Lewis made two big plays that helped Notre Dame win games this past season.
The first one came Oct. 29 at Syracuse, with the Irish holding a commanding 31-17 lead and the Orange set to punt with eight minutes to play. Lewis came screaming off the edge and blocked the Syracuse punt, which edge rusher Jordan Botelho recovered at the two-yard line. The next play was an Audric Estimé fullback dive for a touchdown.
Before Lewis’ block, Notre Dame had a key road win mostly locked up. Lewis deleted “mostly.”
Two weeks later, Navy tried an end-around pass with an eight-point deficit in the late second quarter. Lewis had man coverage against wing back Kai Puailoa-Rojas, who wound up throwing the ball. Instead of chasing Puailoa-Rojas into the backfield, Lewis saw quarterback Xavier Arline sneaking out into a route and started to chase him.
Lewis got to Arline’s spot just in time, intercepting Puailoa-Rojas’ pass. If he did not recognize the trick play, Arline had a whole lot of green grass in front of him. Notre Dame made it a two-score game three plays later and wound up winning 35-32.
Without that game-swinging play from Lewis… Notre Dame fans probably don’t want to think about it.
Over the past three years, no one has played more games for Notre Dame than Lewis. Only long snapper Michael Vinson has played in as many. Lewis appeared in all 38 possible games for the Irish from 2020 to 2022, and barring injury, he’ll make it 51 (52 in the absolute best-case scenario).
In 2022, Lewis was targeted 39 times by opposing quarterbacks and earned a 76.3 coverage grade from Pro Football Focus, who credited him with four pass break-ups and that interception against Navy.
The junior from Edison (N.J.) Mater Dei was the third highest-graded coverage defender for the Irish, behind then-freshman cornerback Benjamin Morrison and since-departed safety Brandon Joseph.
Lewis’ issue this past season, however, was big plays — he allowed four touchdowns, including an 80-yard score from star North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye to receiver Antoine Greene.
Assuming Cam Hart is healthy, Notre Dame’s starting outside cornerback spots are two of the surest positions on the team. Morrison and graduate student Cam Hart are locks. Lewis, as a result, played mostly in the slot as the season wound down — except for the Gator Bowl, in which he played 44 snaps outside with Hart injured.
That’s where Lewis will look to earn a starting spot this season, but he’ll compete with Oklahoma State transfer Thomas Harper. Harper should play a significant role with the Irish, but he has played free safety in the past. The Irish might see him as someone who can compete at either position.
Lewis, with a good fall camp, could convince Notre Dame’s coaches that a secondary with him in the slot and Harper at free safety gives the Irish the best chance to win. Without a good fall camp from Lewis, the Irish will rightly view slot corner as the more valuable position and put Harper there.
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