Notre Dame lands Harvard player via the transfer portal

Notre Dame football added a veteran punter to the roster on Tuesday.

Last One. Best One. #GoIrish ☘️ pic.twitter.com/bCFDIHZUR5

— Jon Sot (@jon_sot_) January 18, 2022

Graduate transfer Jon Sot will finish his career with the Fighting Irish as a preferred walk-on. Before making the move to South Bend, Sot was the punter for the Harvard football team.

After already welcoming a graduate transfer place kicker this off-season with former Arkansas State specialist Blake Grupe, Notre Dame went back to the portal to help fill a need at punter that was vacated by the departed Jay Bramblett this offseason.

That departure presented a big opportunity for Sot.

“With the transfer of (Jay Bramblett) from last season, the opportunity to come in and compete for the starting spot was something that I couldn’t pass up on,” Sot told Sports Illustrated.

Sot spent four years a part of the Harvard program, claiming All-Ivy League in each season (2020 season canceled due to COVID-19 shutdown). The 5-10, 184-pound specialist earned immediate playing time as a true freshman in 2018, capturing Phil Steele FCS All-American third team honors on top of the All-Ivy

Sot averaged 41 yards on his 125 career punts, including a long of 76 yards. He ends his career as Harvard’s all time program leader in punt average.

Former Notre Dame CB announces transfer destination

Former Notre Dame Fighting Irish cornerback Caleb Offord has announced his commitment for the 2022 season. After entering the transfer portal early in January, the sophomore defensive back will head to Buffalo, NY, to join the Buffalo Bulls football program.

Offord, who ranked as a three-star recruit and the No. 483 overall recruit and No. 38 cornerback in the 2020 cycle per the On3 Consensus, played in three snaps as a true freshman, per Pro Football Focus.

During the 2021 campaign, the 6-1, 192-pounder played just seven snaps with the appearances coming against Navy and Toledo. But with Buffalo, Offord has a chance to compete for solid playing time or even start. Coming out of high school as a member of the 2020 recruiting class, he had several offers from top-end programs throughout the country. Offord fielded offers from Arkansas, Memphis, Vanderbilt, Purdue, and the Duke Blue Devils before finally committing to Notre Dame.

In Buffalo, he will join head coach Maurice Linguist, who is a former defensive back himself. Linguist has had a long run in coaching dating back to 2007. The former Baylor Bears safety has held coaching positions at both the collegiate and professional level; most recently, before accepting the head coaching precision with Buffalo, he was the Dallas Cowboys defensive back coach in 2020.