There’s just something about a shutdown corner, especially at the college level.
It’s a position in which you’re making a good play or you’re getting beaten badly on a touchdown. There’s not a lot of middle ground for the average cornerback.
The elite ones are different, though. The true shutdown corners are rarely heard from because opposing quarterbacks tend to avoid them at all costs. They’re also unflappable. They have the ability to give up a first down on one play and snag a pick-six on the next, and it doesn’t matter if you’re throwing a tight end, wide receiver or running back at them.
That’s the type of player the Notre Dame Fighting Irish have in cornerback Leonard Moore.
In fact, Moore was recently ranked as the top defensive player in college football heading into the 2026 season by ESPN’s Eli Lederman and Max Olson. The pair surveyed more than 20 front-office staff members across the sport to come up with their rankings.
That ability to remain unflappable was one of the major reasons why Moore checked in at No. 1.
“Nobody gives him fits,” one Power 4 director of player personnel (DPP) said of Moore. “That’s hard to really say about any other defensive player. Leonard Moore doesn’t struggle with anybody. You can put him on anybody in the country. … He’s the ultimate shutdown guy.”
Moore’s story is incredible when you look at it in its totality, so far. He was ranked as low as a three-star recruit coming out of high school, but he earned freshman All-American honors in 2024 and was a unanimous All-American as a sophomore.
Checking in at 6-foot-1, 187 pounds, he notched an incredible 11 passes defended, two interceptions and two forced fumbles in his freshman season in 16 games played.
Last season, he snagged five interceptions, including one taken back for a touchdown. He also forced a fumble and deflected seven more passes.
