Northwestern transfer DB Heard II follows well-worn path to Notre Dame
SOUTH BEND — Rod Heard II gradually learned to love playing slot cornerback over his five seasons at Northwestern.
After committing to Notre Dame football on Wednesday as the eighth transfer portal addition this offseason, an Irish program record, Heard joins Arizona State grad transfer Jordan Clark as the top slot options for 2024.
“It's a nice position,” Heard told InsideNU.com during the season. “Not a lot of people are able to have all of those skillsets in one player. There's a lot of guys that can cover or they are mainly run stoppers, but having a player that can do everything and being able to move them around — I think it's an invaluable player to have on a defense.”
Heard's 83.4 coverage rating last season, according to Pro Football Focus, ranked 68th nationally among all defensive backs with at least 100 coverage snaps. However, it would have placed the 5-foot-11, 190-pound Heard fourth in the Irish secondary, trailing only pure cornerbacks Benjamin Morrison (84.6), Christian Gray (84.2) and Cam Hart (84.2).
Clark's coverage grade for the Sun Devils last year was just 67.3, which was only slightly better than Thomas Harper's 65.8 figure as the Irish slot corner after transferring in from Oklahoma State.
Heard showed marked improvement last fall after failing to post a coverage grade above 59.3 the previous three seasons. Flagged for eight total penalties from 2020-22, Heard played 853 defensive snaps last season without a single infraction.
Eight Notre Dame defensive backs were called for a combined 18 penalties in 2023, with Morrison (six) and Hart (four) leading the way. Despite that, the Irish led the nation in pass defense efficiency, picking off 16 passes while allowing just eight touchdowns through the air.
Northwestern ranked 42nd in pass defense, while Arizona State was 113th.
A three-star recruit from Farmington
Hills, Mich., Heard picked Northwestern over an offer from Cincinnati at a time when future Irish coach Marcus Freeman and cornerbacks coach Mike Mickens were on staff. Michigan, Purdue, Syracuse, Iowa State, Indiana and Army also offered Heard, whose father, Roderick, played at Eastern Illinois.
After an offseason hazing scandal that led to the dismissal of longtime Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald, Heard helped the Wildcats go 8-5 with a Las Vegas Bowl win over Utah. Heard ranked third on the team in tackles (85) while playing a whopping 1,058 total snaps, including special teams.
He added a sack, four tackles for loss, an interception, four pass breakups, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery in 2023.
This marks the second time in three offseasons that Notre Dame has brought in a transfer defensive back from Northwestern. Former All-America Brandon Joseph went undrafted after
Northwestern Wildcats defensive back Rod Heard II (24) defends the pass intended for Wisconsin Badgers wide receiver Will Pauling (6) during the fourth quarter at Camp Randall Stadium on Nov. 11. an injury-marred 2022 season for the Irish.