Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1491978
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM MARCH 2023 9 UNDER THE DOME transfers: quarterback, running back, wide receiver, interior offensive line- man, defensive end, defensive tackle, cornerback, safety and kicker. 1 — Transfer who never played a snap for Notre Dame: former Stanford run- ning back Trevor Speights. He commit- ted in May 2020 but was medically dis- qualified before 2020 fall camp. 8 — Players who started at least 10 career games at Notre Dame after trans- ferring. That's out of 15 players, because the five committed for 2023 have yet to play. Grupe wasn't credited as a starter, but he was Notre Dame's kicker in all 13 games this season. Smith started five of the 13 games he played in 2022. Pryor played in all 25 games from 2020-21, starting four. Only four of the 15 transfers be- fore 2023 played in six or fewer career games: Speights (zero), wide receiver Freddy Canteen (three games in 2017), wide receiver Cam Smith (six games in 2017) and safety Avery Sebastian (one game in 2015). 2 — Transfers who became NFL Draft picks: Skowronek and Gilman. The for- mer was a seventh-round pick in 2021, while the latter was a sixth-rounder in 2020. Cornerback Nick McCloud (North Carolina State) went undrafted, but he started eight games at safety for the New York Giants this year. Joseph is a projected Day 3 pick this spring. 0 — Transfers who came to Notre Da m e a f te r p l ay i n g a t two p r i o r schools. Those were rarities before two rule tweaks: the one-time immediate eligibility rule passed in 2021 and the COVID-19 bonus season granted to all 2020 players. Former Utah State defensive end By- ron Vaughns would have been the first had Notre Dame landed him. The Irish's recruitment of him appears to be over with Jean-Baptiste's addition. Vaughns played three seasons at Texas before spending the last two with the Aggies. 7 — Players who used the COVID-19 bonus season to transfer to Notre Dame: Grupe, Madden, Shrader, Jean-Baptiste, Hartman, Harper and Kaleb Smith. Chris Smith and quarterback Jack Coan (Wisconsin) were fifth-year players, but they would have had 2022 eligibility without the COVID waiver. EVERY NOTRE DAME SCHOLARSHIP TRANSFER FROM 2012-22 • Wide receiver Amir Carlisle (USC, played at Notre Dame from 2013-15): 38 games, 61 catches for 690 yards and 4 touchdowns, 60 rushes for 288 yards, 46 kick returns for 998 yards. • Cornerback Cody Riggs (Florida, 2014): 11 games, 11 starts, 36 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 3 passes broken up, 1 interception, 1 forced fumble. • Safety Avery Sebastian (California, 2015): 1 game, 0 tackles. • Wide receiver Freddy Canteen (Michigan, 2017): 3 games, 1 start, 1 catch for 7 yards. • Wide receiver Cam Smith (Arizona State, 2017): 6 games, 4 starts, 8 catches for 60 yards and 1 touchdown. • Safety Alohi Gilman (Navy, 2018- 19): 26 games, 26 starts, 168 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 3 interceptions, 7 passes broken up, 5 forced fumbles. • Wide receiver Ben Skowronek (Northwestern, 2020): 12 games, 11 starts, 29 catches for 429 yards and 5 touchdowns. • Running back Trevor Speights (Stanford, 2020): Medically disquali- fied before the season. • Cornerback Nick McCloud (North Carolina State, 2020): 12 games, 11 starts, 33 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 8 passes broken up, 1 interception, 53.6 percent opponent catch rate. • Safety/linebacker Isaiah Pryor (Ohio State, 2020-21): 25 games, 4 starts, 50 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 1 pass broken up, 1 forced fumble. • Offensive guard Cain Madden (Marshall, 2021): 13 starts, 1 sack and 20 pressures allowed, 78.3 overall Pro Football Focus grade. • Quarterback Jack Coan (Wisconsin, 2021): 3,150 yards, 65.5 percent com- pletion rate, 8.2 yards per attempt, 25 touchdowns, 7 interceptions. • Kicker Blake Grupe (Arkansas State, 2022): 13 games, 14 of 19 on field goals, 49 of 49 on extra points. • Safety Brandon Joseph (Northwest- ern, 2022): 10 games, 10 starts, 30 tack- les, 1 interception, 1 pass broken up, 1 forced fumble. • Defensive tackle Chris Smith (Har- vard, 2022): 13 games, 5 starts, 17 tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss, 1 forced fumble. ✦ Wide receiver Ben Skowronek led Notre Dame in touchdown catches (5) in 2020, his lone season with the program after he transferred from Northwestern. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS