Ready or not, Cole Luke was thrown into the deep end in 2014, forced into a starting role after KeiVarae Russell’s August suspension. Paired with Cody Riggs as the team’s field cornerback, Luke more than held his own as a sophomore starter, taking on one of the most challenging schedules in college football, with elite receivers testing the Irish secondary nearly every week.
Luke’s game had high points, with his work against Louisville’s DeVante Parker highlighted by Notre Dame’s staff. But there were tough moments as well, with game tape against USC likely providing motivation for not just Luke, but the rest of the Irish secondary.
Finally paired with Russell, the starting duo in Notre Dame’s secondary has a chance to be special. While we’ll need to let their play on the field dictate terms, Brian VanGorder’s aggressive, man-coverage-schemes have two key assets, with both Luke and Russell capable of playing on an island.
Battle-tested and ready for more, let’s take a closer look at Cole Luke.
COLE LUKE
5'11", 190 lbs.
Junior, No. 36, CB
RECRUITING PROFILE
Top 150 player, offers from both Oklahoma and Texas before choosing Notre Dame. Luke was an early target for Notre Dame, and played at Hamilton under former Irish quarterback Steve Belles.
Luke committed early and then stuck with Notre Dame as some elite programs kept giving chase.
PLAYING CAREER
Freshman Season (2013): Played in all 13 games, made 15 tackles. Broke up two passes. Made six tackles against Air Force.
Sophomote Season (2014): Played and started all 13 games, finishing sixth on the team with 48 tackles. Tied for team lead with four interceptions. Broke up 11 passes, good for the third most in school history and the most since 1978. Also defended 15 passes, tied for 20th in FBS. Had two interceptions against Stanford.
WHAT WE SAID LAST YEAR
Luke separated himself from the pack, clearly a step above Devin Butler and Nick Watkins (and if we’re looking at the entire secondary, he played better than Max Redfield and Elijah Shumate, too). With Cody Riggs gone after a vital fifth-year season (one that was short-circuited by injury), we know what’s expected of Luke, and now it’s a matter of if he’s able to consistently deliver it.Getting a read on the Irish cornerbacks is tricky. After all, we’ve got people talking about KeiVarae Russell as one of the elite corners in college football… and that’s after we all saw him get routinely dusted by Michigan’s Jeremy Gallon last year, a seventh-round draft pick.
Right now the position looks like a strength on the roster, but that’s after seeing this personnel group playing mostly Cover 2 under Diaco, not the most athletically demanding version of the position.
One thing that seems fairly certain right now is that Luke’s going to see the field a lot. Whether it’s starting opposite Russell or playing as a third corner, responsibility will be heaped on Luke’s shoulders after surviving a freshman season without getting exposed.
But he’s going to have to compete. Devin Butler should be healthy after sitting out spring after shoulder surgery. Reports from the summer have freshman corner Nick Watkins looking very ready to contribute. Matthias Farley has shifted to the position, adding some physicality to the position as well.
On paper, this is the type of personnel that exists on championship-level squads. And Luke looks like the type of young talent that embodies that depth.
FUTURE POTENTIAL
Luke may not be a burner, but the ball stats he put up last season certainly point to a guy who is tremendously productive. Add in some more seasoning to his game and there’s a really high ceiling for a defensive back only now entering his third season.
Of course, with expectation comes greater responsibility. It won’t be enough for Luke to simply flash moments and play big in bursts. He’ll need to show a baseline consistency that won’t allow teams a good option when they decide to test the outside of the Irish defense.
The ugly moments last season (Syracuse, USC) need to be replaced with games where Luke just isn’t noticed. And now that he’s joined by KeiVarae Russell and coached by Todd Lyght, the expectations won’t be difficult to understand.
CRYSTAL BALL
For as productive as Luke was last year, this season might be primed for even better returns. if KeiVarae Russell is as good as expected, opponents won’t want anything to do with him. So that might mean Luke’s number is getting called more often, a great situation for a cornerback who believes in his ability to make plays.
In 2015, we need to find out how competitive Luke really is. Russell will bring that out in his secondary mates -- and Lyght will foster it as well. But every great cover man plays with zero memory and a unbendable self-belief that seemed to exist at moments for Luke, but also showed some low-points (I’m thinking of the USC game, specifically).
That’s life as a sophomore. But Luke is an upperclassman now and has the potential to be as good as he wants to be. We’ll find out in 2015 if that’s just a productive college cornerback... or a DB with the chance to be another top draft pick on a roster that looks stacked with pro prospects.
THE 2015 IRISH A-to-Z
Josh Adams, RB
Josh Barajas, OLB
Nicky Baratti, S
Alex Bars, OL
Asmar Bilal, OLB
Hunter Bivin, OL
Grant Blankenship, DE
Jonathan Bonner, DE
Miles Boykin, WR
Justin Brent, WR
Greg Bryant, RB
Devin Butler, CB
Jimmy Byrne, OL
Daniel Cage, DL
Amir Carlisle, RB
Nick Coleman, DB
Te’von Coney, LB
Shaun Crawford, DB
Scott Daly, LS
Sheldon Day, DL
Michael Deeb, LB
Micah Dew-Treadway, DL
Steve Elmer, RG
Matthias Farley, DB
Nicco Fertitta, DB
Tarean Folston, RB
Will Fuller, WR
Jarrett Grace, LB
Jalen Guyton, WR
Mark Harrell, OL
Jay Hayes, DL
Mike Heuerman, TE
Kolin Hill, DE
Tristen Hoge, C
Corey Holmes, WR
Chase Hounshell, TE
Torii Hunter, Jr. WR
Alizé Jones, TE
Jarron Jones, DL
DeShone Kizer, QB
Tyler Luatua, TE