Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM OCT. 15, 2022 15 BY PATRICK ENGEL T he home team's sideline at Notre Dame Stadium this year is close to one extreme of transfer portal usage. The last two opponents to occupy the visitors' side were much closer to the other. Notre Dame's roster has just three scholarship transfer portal acquisitions: senior safety Brandon Joseph, gradu- ate student kicker Blake Grupe and graduate student defensive tackle Chris Smith. Starting punter Jon Sot, another graduate transfer, is a walk-on. Meanwhile, Marshall listed 15 Division I transfers on its offensive and defensive depth chart for its game vs. the Irish Sept. 10. Six of them started the game, including quarterback and running back. Cal pulled nine transfers from four-year schools out of the portal this offseason. Those two teams put in perspective Notre Dame's increased portal usage in recent years and the victory of landing Joseph. A Northwestern emigrant, Jo- seph is just the third undergrad trans- fer to come to Notre Dame since 2012. In Notre Dame terms, an increase in trans- fers is nine in the last three seasons, eight of whom were graduates. For many FBS programs, that's a normal offseason of portal shopping. For a few, it's a slow year. For Notre Dame, double-digit trans- fers in an offseason is a non-starter. But that doesn't mean wiggle room is non- existent or boundaries can't be pushed. Marcus Freeman has had conversations about how to push them since taking over as head coach in December 2021. "It's a process we're in constant com- munication with our admissions, our faculty here at Notre Dame and multi- ple head coaches of athletic programs," Freeman said. "It's not just football. It's a period of college sports where trans- fers and transfer portals are a big part of roster enhancements." Notre Dame isn't a normal FBS pro- gram. The teams it wants to call peers have portal philosophies and recent histo- ries that are closer to its own than Cal's or Marshall's. The foundation of the Irish's roster building and talent acquisition plan will always be high school recruiting. Still, a choppy start to the season has highlighted holes that a transfer likely would have helped mitigate. Freeman knows widening the path for undergrad transfers is not a snap-of-the-fingers request and that portal hunting won't be open season. But he remains at work to reach a common ground. "Our people here at Notre Dame want us to be in a position to be successful," Freeman said. "But at the same time, we want to protect the integrity of the edu- cation here at our university. Nobody is going to just win this, 'Athletics wins or academics wins.' "We have to work together to do what's best for both parties. It's a process we continue to have discussions about." Securing Joseph was a win. Two weeks after he entered his name in the portal, he was enrolled in classes. He transferred from Northwestern midway through his junior year. Everything about adding him made sense. He came from a strong aca- demic school. He filled a need. It had to happen. Notre Dame made it happen. Notre Dame could have used some un- dergrad wins on offense, though, mainly at wide receiver. The Irish wanted to add a receiver this offseason. Nothing came to fruition. The tricky nature of getting undergrad transfers into school wasn't the only factor in striking out, but a less stringent process undeniably would have helped that quest. Avery Davis' August ACL tear and the receivers' slow start make those misses sting in hindsight. The fickle undergrad process didn't hurt Notre Dame in finding a kicker and interior defensive line depth. The grad- uate transfer market supplied both of those this year. It also gave Notre Dame its 2021 starting quarterback (Jack Coan), its 2020 receiving touchdowns leader (Ben Skowronek) and its 2020 passes broken up leader (Nick McCloud). If Notre Dame wanted a 2022 trans- fer quarterback, the grad market likely could have yielded it, too. Coan types are available most years. But Freeman and offensive coordinator Tommy Rees passed, instead pushing the chips all in with Tyler Buchner and Drew Pyne. "We discussed it right when I became the head coach," Freeman said. "I had conversations with Coach Rees about it. We felt like at that moment we did not need to get a college transfer." In hindsight, a transfer would have helped. Freeman and Rees reaching the same conclusion they formed last winter after this season is hard to fathom right now. Buchner, the key to the 2022 season, started two games before suffering a sea- son-ending shoulder sprain. Pyne began the year as the backup. Steve Angeli is a true freshman. Sophomore Ron Powlus III has been the fourth-string quarter- back since his arrival. The Irish do not hold a 2023 quarterback commitment. "That's something we'll talk about after the season, see where Tyler Buchner is coming back from injury," Freeman said. "It's a long season ahead. If that's a posi- tion of need where we have to go get a high school quarterback or a transfer quarter- back, we'll definitely evaluate that." Maybe the preferred option turns out to be an undergrad. And if so, it will present the next step in Notre Dame forming the right give-and-take in its portal approach. ✦ GIVE AND TAKE Marcus Freeman wants to evolve Notre Dame's transfer portal usage, but understands there are compromises Senior safety Brandon Joseph was the first undergrad transfer to come to Notre Dame since 2017. PHOTO BY KAYDEE GAWLIK