Notre Dame DB Micah Bell plans to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal

On Monday, Notre Dame defensive back Micah Bell announced he plans to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal. He only spent one season with the Fighting Irish.

In his lone season at Notre Dame, Bell made three appearances and tallied one tackle, which was a tackle for loss.

Bell played high school football at The Kincaid School (TX), where he was a four-star prospect. He was the No. 264 overall recruit in the 2023 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Bell’s brother, Dillon, is a wide receiver at Georgia. He played in all 14 games for the Bulldogs last season while making eight starts. Along with his decision to transfer, Micah Bell released a heartfelt message on social media.

“I want to thank God for all of the many blessings he has given me,” Bell wrote. “Without him nothing in my life would be possible. I am grateful to Coach Mickens, Coach Golden and Coach Freeman for recruiting me and giving me an opportunity to be a student and athlete at Notre Dame.

“I want to thank all of my teammates at Notre Dame. They have challenged me on and off the field and made me better as both a player and a person. To Notre Dame nation: Thank you for taking me in as one of your own. I enjoyed getting to wear the Gold helmet and have your support. I really enjoyed connecting with you before and after games- you are truly a special group of people!

“Last but not least, I want thank my family for helping me through this process. It is never easy to make life-changing decisions and I am grateful to have them by my side. After much thought and consideration, I have decided to enter my name into the transfer portal.”

He is the 18th Notre Dame player to enter the transfer portal during or since the 2023 campaign. To soften the blow of its losses, the Fighting Irish have also added nine players via the portal, earning the No. 12 spot in On3’s Transfer Portal Team Rankings.

Entering his third season at the helm of the program, Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman is seemingly confident in the direction the Fighting Irish are heading.

“We have a new offensive coordinator, a couple of new coaches, so we have to really continue to grow as coaches to develop that talent that we have,” Freeman said. “But I’m excited. I’m excited for this group. I’m excited for the build that we’re creating right now. We’re building towards that first game we have in College Station. I love where we’re at.”