SOUTH BEND — Leonard Moore’s impact as a freshman cornerback for Notre Dame football was recognized again Wednesday with his selection as the national freshman defensive player of the year.
The Football Writers Association of America conducted the voting, which also honored South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers and Clemson kicker Nolan Hauser as the top freshmen on offense and special teams, respectively.
Irish tight end Mitchell Evans, shielded on the sideline, admitted he assumed Moore had made the final-minute interception against Penn State to set up the winning field goal at the Orange Bowl semifinal of the College Football Playoff.
“I thought it was Leonard,” Evans said. “I didn’t know it was Christian (Gray). I just saw one of the corners go down with it and I was too busy screaming to see who it was. But my initial thought was Leonard.”
A three-star recruit from Round Rock, Texas, Moore made a spot start at field corner against Louisville in Week 5, then replaced preseason All-American Benjamin Morrison at boundary corner in Game 7 at Georgia Tech.
Morrison, who underwent season-ending hip surgery, has continued to mentor Moore through a highly rated debut season.
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At 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds, Moore leads the Irish defense with 10 pass breakups to go with 43 tackles (seventh), two interceptions, two forced fumbles, two tackles for loss and one quarterback hit.
Averaging 45 defensive snaps for the year, Moore has rarely left the field, aside from the Army game (21 snaps), due to limited depth at the cornerback spot. Moore has played every defensive snap in six of his nine starts, including the past four games.
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With a Pro Football Focus grade of 88.9, Moore ranks seventh in the FBS among all cornerbacks with at least 300 defensive snaps. Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter of Colorado ranks sixth.
Moore also was named to the FWAA freshman All-America team. He is the fifth Notre Dame player to be honored since the FWAA freshman awards started in 2018 and the first to be named a national freshman of the year.
This year’s FWAA award winners will be honored at a dinner on Feb. 24 in Gainesville, Fla.
