Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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4 SEPT. 30, 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED A s the college football world is col- lectively discovering during this incessant era of player relocation, not all transfers are created equally. Nor are the strategies coaches around the country are using when dipping into the transfer portal to fortify position needs, or on other occasions, to completely gut and rebuild a program in the way Deion Sanders did at Colorado this offseason. Comparatively speaking, Notre Dame is more careful and calculating when it comes to finding good fits with its incom- ing transfers than most other schools. In the four years since the Irish staff began using the portal (2020-23), only 17 players have been brought in. That includes seven portal players on the roster this offseason, the most ever in a single year (though former Virginia Tech wide receiver Kaleb Smith ended up retiring from football due to medical reasons during spring practice). "We've always said if we're going to get somebody out of the portal," Free- man explained, "they have to be some- body we know can come in and make an immediate impact and really help this football team win games." Fighting Irish rival USC brought in 15 players from the portal just this offsea- son, while LSU under former Irish head coach Brian Kelly welcomed in 14. Colorado, well, it brought in 51 trans- fers, obviously while operating under less-than traditional circumstances with a coaching change and a subse- quent program overhaul. What Notre Dame has lacked in its quantity of transfer additions, it has more than made up for in the quality of those players. Of the 10 portal players who have al- ready moved through Notre Dame and left the university, three — wide receiver Ben Skowronek, cornerback Nick McCloud and placekicker Blake Grupe — have se- cured their spots on a 2023 NFL roster. Three others are knocking on the NFL door, and former Irish transfer quarter- back Jack Coan is playing professionally in the XFL. And so far this season, most of the six remaining Irish transfers were paying immediate and impactful dividends. Through four games, here was a snap- shot at some of the contributions this year's Irish transfer class had provided. • Defensive tackle Javontae Jean- Baptiste was tied for fourth on the team with 15 tackles. The Ohio State transfer also led the Irish with 4 quarterback hurries and added 2 tackles for loss. • Safety Thomas Harper was tied with Jean-Baptiste for fourth on the team with 15 tackles. The Oklahoma State transfer also had 2 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 2 passes broken ups and 1 forced fumble. • Placekicker Spencer Shrader (South Florida) had made all 24 of his extra- point tries and converted 3 field goals, including a 54-yarder against North Car- olina State Sept. 9, the longest successful field goal in Notre Dame program history. • Cornerback Antonio Carter II (Rhode Island) added 6 tackles and 1 forced fumble in a situational role. • And lest we forget, there's quarter- back Sam Hartman. The Wake Forest transfer headed into the Ohio State game rated as the third-most efficient quar- terback in the country after lifting the Notre Dame offense to heights not seen since Brady Quinn was under center. Hartman has become the face of the Fighting Irish program, a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate, the most impactful transfer to come out of the 2023 portal and the primary reason why Notre Dame is in line for a playoff push. It's no secret that strict academic re- quirements and enrollment rules will keep Notre Dame from ever opening the portal floodgates each offseason in the way other schools do. But instead of worrying about the players it can't get, the Irish staff instead is doing a masterful job of fortifying its position needs with transfers it can get, but without losing sight of the preferred method for roster construction. "We want to continue to build the foundation of this program off of high school recruiting, and to develop those young people and get them into our program," Freeman said. "But we know we can use the transfer portal to truly enhance specific needs we have." It's too early to speculate on whether this offseason's robust seven-player trans- fer haul is going to become more the norm or the exception at Notre Dame. Before this year, the Irish had never brought in more than four transfers in any offseason. "I don't think it's a black-and-white number," Freeman said, "as much as it is, 'Let's enhance the positions we need.'" And that simple strategy is proving to be equal parts vital and valuable so far this season. ✦ Graduate student defensive end Javontae Jean-Baptiste, who transferred from Ohio State to Notre Dame, led the team with 4 quarterback hurries and was tied for fourth with 15 tackles through four games. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER Irish Getting The Most Out Of Their Transfer Class UPON FURTHER REVIEW TODD D. BURLAGE Todd D. Burlage has been a writer for Blue & Gold Illustrated since July 2005. He can be reached at tburlage@blueandgold.com