Notre Dame DB Brandon Joseph ranked No. 24 in final On3 Transfer Portal Rankings
Notre Dame needed a new difference-maker in the secondary. All signs indicate it got one.
A few days removed from the “closing” of the transfer portal — at least for players who would like to play next fall without a waiver — the final 2022 On3 Transfer Portal Rankings are here.
One of the new members of the Notre Dame team made the list: safety Brandon Joseph checks in at No. 24. The Northwestern transfer is the seventh defensive player and second safety in the rankings, coming behind LSU‘s Jarrick Bernard-Converse. The Louisiana native is headed back home after four seasons at Oklahoma State.
Joseph was surely a blessing for an Irish secondary trying to replace first-round draft selection Kyle Hamilton, and so far, so good. While it was just spring practice, Joseph wasted no time making himself known. The Texas native intercepted a pass in each of Notre Dame’s first seven practices, and he wrapped up spring ball with three tackles and a tackle for loss in the Blue-Gold Game on April 23.
One big area of improvement for Joseph headed into 2022 was his tackling. According to Pro Football Focus, Joseph registered 21 missed tackles in 2021. The 6-1, 192-pound defensive back had a tendency to move too quickly and not finish the job. Hopefully for Notre Dame, a focus on fundamentals this spring corrected those issues.
Which Notre Dame 2022 opponents made the list?
As it currently stands, Notre Dame faces three players included in the rankings, two of whom joined the same team.
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1. QB Caleb Williams (Oklahoma —> USC): The top transfer-related story this year, Williams followed his head coach, Lincoln Riley, to Los Angeles. The No. 1 recruit in the On300 coming out of high school in 2021, the Washington D.C. native completed 136 of his 211 passes (64.5 percent) for 1,1912 yards, 21 touchdowns and four picks last season with the Sooners. He grabbed the starting job from former Oklahoma signal-caller Spencer Rattler midway through the season in Norman, and all signs point to him being the starter for USC this fall.
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14. OL Kingsley Suamataia (Oregon —> BYU): BYU’s offensive line was always going to be a challenge for the Irish defense, and Suamataia brings an added layer of difficulty. The former five-star recruit originally from Utah is making his way back after dealing with injury issues and playing in just one game last year for Oregon. Suamataia is 6-6 and 330 pounds, up nearly 15 pounds from his weight when he enrolled as a true freshman.
21. RB Travis Dye (Oregon —> USC): The former Ducks running back is making the intra-conference move down South and joining Riley and Co. after four years at Oregon. Over his career, Dye has carried the ball 521 times for 3,111 yards and 21 touchdowns. He’s also a threat in the passing game, as he averages 10.5 yards per reception and has eight scores through the air.
Wide receiver Jordan Addison is No. 4 on the list. While he is currently uncommitted, USC is a top contender. He would make an already potent offense even more lethal should he make his way to the West Coast.
