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Gimme Five: Where Notre Dame's Kris Mitchell ranks among transfer wide receivers

IMG_7504by:Jack Soble•12/07/23•

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Future Notre Dame wide receiver Kris Mitchell. (Photo: FIU Athletics)

When Notre Dame dipped into the transfer portal for a wide receiver, it couldn’t have done much better than Kris Mitchell.

The Florida International graduate transfer is No. 2 wideout in the portal, as ranked by On3. No. 1 on the list, South Alabama transfer Caullin Lacy, plays primarily out of the slot — meaning he doesn’t fill Notre Dame’s biggest need, as the Irish have promising freshmen Jaden Greathouse and Jordan Faison returning next season.

That means Mitchell is On3’s best available player at its most pressing position of need, and for good reason. He  is 6-foot-1, 175 pounds, and he burst onto the scene in 2023. He caught 64 passes on 100 targets for 1,118 yards and 7 touchdowns. When you turn on the tape, you’ll see a wideout with all the makings of an elite deep threat, even against increased competition.

Lacy is a terrific player in his own right, even if he doesn’t necessarily fit Notre Dame’s current roster. He caught 91 passes for 1,316 yards and 7 scores in his fourth season with the Jaguars, and he left for an opportunity at a Power Five — or with the Pac-12 gone, Power Four — school in his final season of eligibility.

Ja’Mori Maclin, transferring from North Texas, is No. 3 on the list. He broke out in his second season with the Mean Green in 2023 after a two-year stint at Missouri. He is the cousin of former Tigers star and NFL wideout Jeremy Maclin.

South Carolina transfer Juice Wells and Vanderbilt transfer Will Sheppard round out On3’s top-five list, both looking for greener pastures after down years for their Southeastern Conference teams. Wells has a 1,200-yard season on his resume with James Madison in 2021, and he broke the 900-yard mark in the SEC in 2022.

As of Thursday, only Mitchell is committed out of those five. The On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine projects Lacy to Texas A&M and Wells to Ole Miss with 100 percent confidence ratings, although On3’s Pete Nakos reported that Tennessee and Texas are two teams to watch for Wells.

The RPM has Michigan State as the favorite for Maclin and Tulane as the favorite for Sheppard, but with confidence ratings of 10.5 percent and 19.5 percent, respectively.

On3’s top five transfer portal wide receivers

RankPlayerPrevious schoolNext school
1.Caullin LacySouth AlabamaTBD (projected Texas A&M)
2.Kris MitchellFlorida InternationalNotre Dame
3.Ja’Mori MaclinNorth TexasTBD
4.Juice WellsSouth CarolinaTBD (projected Ole Miss)
5.Will SheppardVanderbiltTBD

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