Midweek Musings: Notre Dame Transfer Portal Pickups Were Huge
My focus on today's Midweek Musings will be primarily about the transfer portal.
NOTRE DAME GRADES WELL IN THE PORTAL
Notre Dame went into this portal period with very important needs. The Irish didn't need volume, they needed to land players at very specific positions. There were other areas where the staff had wants, but not needs, but the positions the staff picked up transfers were more about needs, which made them even more important.
There is no question that quarterback was the team's biggest need after watching talented sophomore Tyler Buchner go down with an injury early in the 2022 season. Buchner is a player the Irish staff is very high on, but his injury history - and the lack of development that comes with it - put Notre Dame in position to need to go looking for a quarterback in the portal.
Tommy Rees and Marcus Freeman went big game hunting at quarterback, turning down some talented prospects and eventually setting their sights on former Wake Forest standout Sam Hartman. ESPN and On3 are just two of many outlets that have Hartman ranked as the top quarterback on the market. Landing Hartman gives Notre Dame an experienced quarterback that owns the ACC record for touchdown passes (110) and one that ranks 18th in college football history in passing yards (12,967).
In Hartman, Notre Dame lands an experienced quarterback with the arm talent, experience, grittiness and the willingness to attack parts of the field recent signal callers have largely avoided. With the big wideouts Notre Dame is returning, and the run game it will have to protect Hartman, this could be a marriage that pays huge dividends for both sides.
Notre Dame returns a talented but young group of receivers, and the unit suffered at times from a lack of leadership and experience. Notre Dame didn't necessarily need an impact wideout in the 2023 transfer cycle, but it definitely needed to land at least one receiver, and one with experience. That is what the Irish got when they landed former Virginia Tech wideout Kaleb Smith.
While CJ Williams (USC to Wisconsin) likely would have garnered much more fan fare and attention due to his high recruiting profile, Smith is the far more proven player, and the player that Notre Dame needed in this cycle. It needed a bridge between the 2023 and 2024 seasons, when the vaunted 2023 receiver class will be in better position to provide all the depth needed at the position. He can handle all three receiver spots in the Irish offense, and as a team captain for the Hokies he brings much-needed veteran leadership.
Hartman (2nd team in 2021, 3rd team in 2022) and Smith (honorable mention) were both All-ACC performers last season.
Notre Dame needed help along the defensive line and it got that when former Ohio State edge Javontae Jean-Baptiste pledged to the Irish. Baptiste has been a key rotation player for the Buckeyes the last three seasons and comes to Notre Dame with almost 1,000 career snaps under his belt. He was also third on the Ohio State defense this season with four sacks, and he has eight sacks (and 10.5 TFLs) for his career.
Jean-Baptiste has a frame and style of play very similar to that of former Irish defensive end Adetokunbo Ogundeji.
Notre Dame lost standout slot corner TaRiq Bracy, who used of all of his eligibility. He'll be hard to replace, but Notre Dame landed one of the best slots on the market when former Oklahoma State defensive back Thomas Harper picked the Irish. Harper didn't receive much fan fare, but his nickel film in 2022 was outstanding, and when he went out with an injury the Cowboy defense took a big step back.
Harper is more of a nickel safety than a nickel corner like Bracy, but his man coverage skills this past season were impressive, as were the results. Bracy allowed 10.6 yards per catch and 7.2 yards per attempt in coverage this season (according to PFF), while Harper allowed just 9.7 yards per catch and 5.8 yards per attempt while primarily playing in the slot. He brings a lot more positional flexibility for the Irish, who also have depth issues at safety, another position that Harper can help.
Notre Dame also went into the portal to find new specialists. South Florida placekicker Spencer Shrader hit 77.4% of his field goals the last three seasons, and 80% the last two (20-25). He was also a strong kick off specialists in 2022.
Jon Sot came to Notre Dame from the Ivy League and did an outstanding job for the Irish in 2022. Notre Dame is hoping to repeat that success in 2023, and it's doing so by bringing in Penn punter Ben Krimm. The Ohio native earned All-Ivy League honors in 2022 and has two seasons of eligibility remaining.
Overall Grade: A-
Notre Dame needed interior defensive line help, and landing more of a proven difference maker up front was needed. Jean-Baptiste could become that player, but he would need to out-perform what he's done in the past. The Irish had too many swings and misses along the defensive line for me to give them an A grade, but overall it was an outstanding group.
REMAINING PORTAL NEEDS
Right now Notre Dame is set in the portal, but that will change after the spring. For one, Notre Dame is going to have to lose players from its current roster in order to get down to 85 scholarships by the fall. I expect we'll see players leave after the spring, see some players go on medical scholarships and perhaps see some choose to become students and no longer play football.
We'll also get a chance this winter and spring to see if some young players on the interior of the defensive line and at guard can step into the rotation, or even the starting lineup. If youngsters like Billy Schrauth, Ty Chan and/or Rocco Spindler have strong offseasons the Irish will be set at guard. If they struggle, however, don't be surprised to see Notre Dame keep its eyes on the portal for players who might jump in when it opens back up in May.
The same is true for the defensive line, both at Vyper and on the interior If young players like Josh Burnham, Aiden Gobaira and Junior Tuilhalamaka step up at Vyper, and young players like Gabriel Rubio, Jason Onye or even newcomer Devan Houstan step up this spring, and Aidan Keanaaina comes back to good health the Irish should be good along the line. If they don't, however, the Irish will need to again look in the portal after the spring.
If there are any major injuries this spring that could also create more needs in May.
TOP TEAMS IN THE PORTAL FOR 2023
A look at some teams that I believe really helped themselves in the portal this offseason, along with Notre Dame.
FLORIDA STATE - Mike Norvell has done extremely well in the portal the last two seasons. Beating Notre Dame for Braden Fiske (Western Michigan) was huge for the Seminoles, who also added a talented and versatile tight end in Jaheim Bell (South Carolina). Cornerback Fentrell Cypress (Virginia) provides a big need on the outside, and defensive linemen Gilber Edmond (South Carolina) and Darrell Jackson (Miami) provide side and depth up front.
USC - The Trojans went for flash in 2022, landing big names at wide receiver and quarterback. They landed Arizona wideout Dorian Singer and oft-injured running back Marshawn Lloyd this cycle, but those are the pickups that impressed me. USC landed three quality veteran offensive linemen in the portal in Ethan White and Michael Tarquin from Florida, and Jarrett Kingston from Washington State. Anthony Lucas is a big name but he'll need to perform better on and off the field at USC than he did at Texas A&M. Jack Sullivan is solid and gives good depth along the defensive line.
MICHIGAN - The Wolverines had another quality offseason in the portal, landing talented offensive tackle Myles Hinton (Stanford), solid interior blocker Drake Nugent (Stanford) and quality interior lineman LaDarius Henderson (Arizona State). They also added good linebacker depth, with Ernest Hausmann (Nebraska) being my favorite of the group.
WASHINGTON - The Huskies should once again have an explosive pass game, but their run game got a huge boost with the additions of Dillon Johnson (Mississippi State) and Daniyel Ngata (Arizona State). The defense struggled last season, but the portal gave it a boost with the additions of Oklahoma State corner Jabbar Muhammad and linebacker Ralen Goforth (USC).
OLE MISS - My concern with Ole Miss is that perhaps they went to the portal for a bit too much. I'm still dubious on whether or not the portal can be a primary driver for a healthy roster. A weak schedule and an elite quarterback helped USC do that last season, we'll see if Ole Miss can have a similar bump. Oklahoma State quarterback Spencer Sanders is a bit of a boom or bust pickup, and Texas A&M wideout Chris Marshall is extremely talented. If he can get his head on straight that could be their biggest pickup from this portal class. Ole Miss also added depth to its defense, which was needed, especially after it hired former Alabama DC Pete Golding, who often struggled with the elite talent he had at Alabama.
TWEET OF THE WEEK
Here's Notre Dame incoming transfer Kaleb Smith making an impressive touchdown grab against West Virginia.
VIDEO OF THE WEEK
Our recent breakdown of whether or not Hartman makes Notre Dame a title contender in 2023.
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2023 Recruiting Class Grades - Offense
2023 Recruiting Class Grades - Defense
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