Notre Dame transfer portal to-do list: Land QB Riley Leonard, keep momentum going at WR

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — On the same night Notre Dame gained its first win in the transfer portal, it lost its 11th outgoing transfer and squared away a visit from its future potential quarterback, plus two wide receivers. On top of that, Notre Dame expects a former quarterback to return to the Irish, just via the national championship lacrosse program.

Welcome to day one of Transfer Portal Season.

As for day two, Notre Dame added a receiver whose yardage total last season would have been the best here since Will Fuller in 2015. Starting linebacker Marist Liufau opted out of the Sun Bowl while potential All-American safety Xavier Watts opted in, all while it appears quarterback Sam Hartman may have played his last game for the Irish.

So yeah, there’s a lot happening.

GO DEEPER

Notre Dame adds 1,000-yard FIU transfer WR Mitchell

Notre Dame appears to be ready for it, at least as much as any program can be.

“We’re always aware of the portal,” said coach Marcus Freeman last month. “We’re unique in terms of the guys we can truly get from the portal to Notre Dame, and so you’re always aware of those guys that could be graduates or the guys that are first-year guys.

“So, we’re always evaluating guys that we think … might be about to enter the portal and looking for another opportunity. If it happens, how much interest would we have? But it’s really hard until they actually get to the portal, right? We can’t wait until somebody gets into the portal to have an evaluation on him.”

Notre Dame had early evaluations down on defensive back Jordan Clark and wide receiver Kris Mitchell, which helped the Irish land both. But the Irish won’t (and can’t) stop there. But by week’s end, Notre Dame could be halfway home to its portal needs. Here’s what the Irish need to get done to fortify their roster heading into 2024.

Notre Dame lands its first commitment from the transfer portal in Arizona State defensive back Jordan Clark, son of former NFL defensive back Ryan Clark. Irish had a need and moved early.
— Pete Sampson (@PeteSampson_) December 5, 2023

Former Duke quarterback Riley Leonard will be on campus this week, and there’s an expectation he could announce a commitment to Notre Dame by Friday. The Irish pursuit of Leonard is closer to its conclusion than its beginning, which would stabilize the quarterback depth chart for next season, even if it might further complicate how the Irish approach the Sun Bowl.

A week ago, Freeman said he expected Hartman to play in the bowl game. But after the bowl announcement, he softened that stance, deferring to the quarterback himself to announce his plans. Considering the likelihood of tackles Joe Alt and Blake Fisher opting out, along with running back Audric Estime, never mind the departures at receiver, the idea of Hartman putting himself at risk one more time for Notre Dame feels like a reach.

So, if Notre Dame lands Leonard and Hartman opts out, what does Steve Angeli do? The sophomore could get his first start at Notre Dame or he could feel the need to look around for his next destination. Regardless of any potential fallout, taking Leonard will be the priority.

The Alabama native should be an easy fit in Notre Dame’s locker room, although his skill set is different from Hartman, both as a passer and runner. Leonard has thrown just 24 touchdown passes over the past three seasons. Hartman threw 101. But Leonard is the more dynamic runner, with his 19 rushing touchdowns one short of Hartman’s career total despite the former Wake Forest quarterback playing in twice the number of games.

The ramifications of these differences in skill set is for offensive coordinator Gerad Parker to resolve during spring practice. For now, it’s on Freeman to get his guy at quarterback.

Auburn is the main serious competition.

Keep momentum at wide receiver

Kris Mitchell was a good start, but only if he’s a start.

The Florida International grad transfer put up 64 catches for 1,118 yards and seven touchdowns last year, meaning he’d have led Irish receivers in all three of those categories each of the past four seasons. He’ll be able to help the Irish outside the numbers, where Notre Dame returns little production from this season following injuries and departing transfers.

Notre Dame’s original plan was to sign two receivers from the portal this winter, but Freeman also hoped to have Rico Flores on the roster. While it’s not clear if the Irish will take three receivers instead, it is clear who they’re targeting in Beaux Collins (Clemson) and Josh Kelly (Washington State). Kelly visited this week and will see Texas Tech next. Collins is expected in later this week, likely with Leonard.

Kelly led Washington State with 61 catches for 923 yards and eight touchdowns in 2023. Collins was third in the Clemson passing game with 38 catches for 510 yards and three scores.

If Notre Dame lands two portal receivers it would likely mean 10 scholarship receivers on next year’s roster, although six of them would be freshmen or sophomores. While that’s not ideal, Notre Dame isn’t in position to be picky about its roster additions in light of transfers and the change at receivers coach.

Other notable receivers in the portal to track are Will Sheppard (Vanderbilt) and Chimere Dike (Wisconsin). In Madison, Dike worked under Mike Brown, expected to be Notre Dame’s new receivers coach. Dike finished his Badgers career with 97 receptions for 1,478 yards and nine touchdowns. Sheppard, who’s already picked up offers from around the SEC, finished his Vanderbilt career with 152 catches for 2067 yards and 21 scores.

Enhance both lines of scrimmage

Notre Dame wants to sign at least two linemen from the portal, one offensive tackle and one pass rusher. It’s not clear where Notre Dame may turn on the offensive line, where it can be tough to find help. Notre Dame landed Cain Madden from Marshall three years ago and he was expected to be a plug-and-play road grader. Instead, he was exposed as a Group of 5 player who couldn’t make it at the Power 5 level.

The Irish plan to be without Alt and Fisher next season, likely returning Tosh Baker and Aamil Wagner as potential starting tackles. Charles Jagusah and Sullivan Absher will be coming off redshirt seasons. A graduate transfer at tackle could create more competition. The same could be true on the interior.

The defensive line has at least one clear candidate in RJ Oben from Duke. The product of St. Peter’s Prep — alma mater of the Jayson and Justin Ademilola and Brandon Wimbush — had modest production last season (17 tackles, 6 TFLs, 5 sacks), but at a lean 6 feet 4, 260 pounds, perhaps he can offer some of the same production as Javontae Jean-Baptiste.

It’s not clear if Notre Dame needs another interior defensive lineman considering the roster in-house, but 6-4, 300-pound Joey Slackman from Penn might be worth a look as an Ivy League player. He’s already picked up offers from Michigan, Florida, Washington, Miami and USC.

Round out the secondary

Notre Dame got a jump-start by landing Clark, the nickelback from Arizona State. The son of 13-year NFL veteran and former LSU defensive back Ryan Clark visited Notre Dame last weekend with his father and needed barely 24 hours to announce his decision.

On paper, he’s a like-for-like replacement for Thomas Harper, a graduate transfer from Oklahoma State last winter. Of Harper’s 438 snaps on defense last season, 353 of them (80.1 percent) were as a slot corner, per Pro Football Focus. At Arizona State, Clark logged 631 snaps on defense last season and 470 of them (74.5 percent) were at slot cornerback. He wasn’t as sure a tackler as Harper, but he was more active in the pass game with eight pass breakups compared to Harper’s one.

Notre Dame will return a wealth of talent at cornerback in Benjamin Morrison, Christian Gray and Jaden Mickey as potential starters on the outside. If Clark fits in the slot, it leaves safety as the spot Notre Dame needs to hit next. Xavier Watts said he’ll play in the Sun Bowl and was already talking about how he’d manage his academics if he did return for a fifth year, which is promising. But the Irish are desperate for help after losing DJ Brown, Ramon Henderson and Antonio Carter II.

That leaves a pair of sophomores — Ben Minich and Adon Shuler — and an incoming three-man safety class to round out the roster. That’s not a comfortable place to be, even if Watts did some back.

It’s worth remembering that nickel is a starting position in Notre Dame’s defense. The Irish had at least five defensive backs on the field on 85.7 percent of defensive snaps against Ohio State and 60.1 percent of defensive snaps at Clemson.

Find a new kicker

Following who Riley Leonard follows on social media has become a parlor game for Notre Dame fans (and media) in the past week, as he’s clicked on several key Irish players, a few transfer targets and even the football program’s communications director. Among those social media connections? Former South Carolina kicker Mitch Jeter, who entered the transfer portal this week as a graduate transfer. And that may be exactly what special teams coordinator Marty Biagi is looking for in his next specialist.

A year ago, Notre Dame grabbed Spencer Shrader out of the portal as a graduate transfer from USF to replace Blake Grupe, who the Irish grabbed out of the transfer portal from Arkansas State. There’s little reason to think that trend won’t continue.

“There can’t be a big margin of error,” Biagi said last month. “I don’t think it’s ever an option that we’re not going to look at high school kids. … I would say the hardest part for us is trying to go see kickers play in their element in high school, it’s just really hard to grasp that. Anybody can come and in a one-day camp really perform, but you’re trying to say, ‘OK, is this who I’m really putting my eggs in a basket for?’”

Jeter went 23-of-25 on field goal attempts at South Carolina the past two seasons, hitting multiple kicks from 50-plus yards. With Shrader out the door after a largely successful season, there’s no reason to think the Irish won’t go back into the portal. Jeter, an academic honor roll student, would seem to fit that bill.

(Photo of Riley Leonard: Lance King / Getty Images)