Notre Dame Found Two Important Defensive Pieces In The Transfer Portal

Notre Dame went into the transfer portal to find replacements for two very important veteran players

Notre Dame has developed a very strategic and targeted approach to the transfer portal, and that philosophy allowed the Irish to add a small but very impactful group of transfers. While quarterback Sam Hartman gets much of the attention, Notre Dame was able to dip into the portal to fill two very important roles on defense.

Notre Dame lost nickel corner TaRiq Bracy and defensive tackle Jayson Ademilola this offseason, and the portal moves the staff made in recent weeks will go a very long way towards filling those holes.

The Irish landed former Oklahoma State defensive back Thomas Harper a week ago, and he fills the void that Bracy left behind. Harper was Oklahoma State's starting nickel this past season and played over 1,100 snaps during his career with the Cowboys (Pro Football Focus). Harper played 639 snaps in the slot during his time at Oklahoma State.

Harper is expected to compete for the nickel spot that Bracy left behind, and when looking at Notre Dame's 2023 schedule, the Irish are going to be playing a lot of nickel defense in the upcoming season. 

Landing Harper gives Notre Dame a bit more of a versatile player in the slot. While Bracy was a pure corner, one that could play in the slot or on the outside, Harper is more of a nickel safety. Notre Dame will be able to play in the slot, at safety, or in a role that allows the staff to move him around in the nickel package. He gives the defense a lot more flexibility within their nickel package, which is important.

Notre Dame landed former Ohio State defensive end Javontae Jean-Baptiste on Friday. Landing him does not directly address the loss of Ademilola, but landing Jean-Baptiste gives the Irish a defensive end that will battle for a starting role at that spot. At the very least, Jean-Baptiste provides much-needed experience and depth at the defensive end position. That will allow Notre Dame to move former starting defensive end Rylie Mills inside, and that addresses the loss of Ademilola.

Jean-Baptiste gives the Irish defense a long and disruptive edge player. He's a different end than Mills, who was 6-5 and 292 pounds. Jean-Baptiste is more of an Adetokunbo Ogundeji type of player. At 6-5 and 250 pounds with extremely long arms and strong hands, Jean-Baptiste projects to bring more disruptive ability to the end position. His win-rate as a pass rusher at Ohio State was better than Isaiah Foskey's and was second among the Ohio State ends this past season.

Mills now gets to focus more on playing on the inside in four-man looks, and he can play with Jean-Baptiste in three-down looks as edge players.

Although Notre Dame can't hit the portal the way other programs can from a volume standpoint, the Irish staff has done extremely well this offseason of filling very important, targeted needs with the portal. The result is Notre Dame solidifying its defensive roster at the very least, and if things go well it could be even better in the spots that were addressed in the portal.

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