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Notre Dame CB Chance Tucker granted medical redshirt for extra year of eligibility

Singer headshotby:Mike Singer•about 9 hours•

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chance tucker-2
Notre Dame cornerback Chance Tucker. (Chad Weaver, Blue & Gold)

Chance Tucker graduated from Notre Dame in December with one year of college football eligibility remaining. But the Encino, Calif. native received good news this month, as the NCAA granted him a medical redshirt that gives him an extra year of eligibility, a source told Blue & Gold. This news was confirmed by a Notre Dame spokesperson.

Tucker can now play in a sixth year in 2026 season if he so chooses, and if he stays at Notre Dame the next two seasons, he would leave South Bend with a master’s degree.

The Fighting Irish cornerback gets the medical redshirt because he missed the 2024 season during Notre Dame’s “jersey scrimmage” that took place last August. Tucker suffered a torn ACL.

“We love Chance, man,” Irish head coach Marcus Freeman told reporters during a press conference last August in which he announced the news. “He’s a great teammate, a great person — you feel terrible for him that he loses this season.”

There are several other Notre Dame players that missed the 2024 season and are very likely to receive medical redshirts as well.

Entering last season, the 6-foot, 189-pound Tucker projected to be a key depth piece behind juniors Benjamin Morrison, Jaden Mickey and sophomore Christian Gray. Freshman Leonard Moore emerged during the 2024 season and if Tucker didn’t get injured, he may have played a good bit this past season following Morrison’s season-ending injury and Mickey’s transfer.

Gray and Moore project as the starters for the 2025 season, but Tucker will look to play a role for the Irish.

A look at Chance Tucker’s Notre Dame football career before the injury

A product of Crespi Carmelite, Tucker was entering his fourth season for the Irish in 2024.

After redshirting during the 2021 season, he made his collegiate debut in the program’s 2022 home season against Boston College on Nov. 19.

In 2023, Tucker played 34 snaps between four games. His heaviest workloads came in Week 1 against Tennessee State on Sept. 2 and the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl against Oregon State on Dec. 12. He played 12 snaps each in those outings, finishing with two of his three career tackles in the postseason.

Tucker appeared in five other contests, seeing time on Notre Dame’s kick coverage, punt return and field goal block units.

Tucker was a three-star recruit who ranked as the No. 51 wide receiver nationally and No. 28 prospect in California in the 2021 class according to the On3 Industry Ranking. He chose the Irish over scholarship offers from Colorado, Northwestern, Oregon State, Washington and Washington State.

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