Notre Dame transfer tracker: 11 players have entered portal since start of 2022 season

The two-week spring transfer window has featured nearly as many exits from Notre Dame as the 45-day winter period. Five Irish players left the team between Dec. 5 and Jan. 18. Four from the 2022 roster hopped in the portal in a six-day span around the Blue-Gold Game. There are five days left for others to join them.

The spring departures have pushed Notre Dame below the 85-player scholarship limit, at 83. The Irish have room to add players without needing other attrition.

Here’s a look at the Notre Dame players who have entered the portal, medically retired or left the program since the start of the 2022 season. This tracker will be updated with new portal entrants and transfer destinations throughout the offseason. Class years listed are for the 2023 season.

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Junior quarterback Tyler Buchner

Notre Dame hoped Tyler Buchner – the original 2022 starter – would stick around for 2023, even if that likely meant sitting behind grad transfer Sam Hartman. The junior-to-be seemed to be on board with that plan and even helped Hartman acclimate into Notre Dame’s offense and its locker room. Three days after Hartman starred in the Blue-Gold Game though, Buchner chose to explore transfer options. He is keeping the door open for a return to Notre Dame.

Portal entry date: April 25

2022 stats: 46-for-83, 652 yards, 3 TD, 5 INT, 36 carries for 123 yards, 4 TD

Transfer destination: Alabama

Years left: 3

Junior linebacker Prince Kollie

A former top-100 recruit, Prince Kollie was a semi-regular rotation player and special-teams stalwart as a sophomore in 2022. He had 19 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks in 136 defensive snaps, almost all of them at will linebacker. He played a team-high 231 special teams snaps and blocked one punt.

Kollie’s playing time outlook appeared to narrow with grad student rover Jack Kiser seeing more time at will linebacker this spring. Primary 2022 will Marist Liufau returned for a fifth year.

Portal entry date: April 24

2022 stats: 19 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks

Transfer destination: Has not announced

Years left: 2

Junior wide receiver Lorenzo Styles

Top-100 recruit Lorenzo Styles ended his freshman season in 2021 as a starter and looked like a future star. He posted 24 catches for 344 yards, capped by an 8-catch, 136-yard outing in the Fiesta Bowl, and entered 2022 as the top receiver. Issues with drops, though, sent him down the depth chart last fall. He had just 7 catches in his final 6 games and only 30 on the season.

Styles dabbled at cornerback later in spring practice and appeared likely to move there. He and the Notre Dame coaching staff were open to it. But he entered the portal one day before the Blue-Gold Game and is looking to play cornerback somewhere else.

Portal entry date: April 21

2022 stats: 30 catches, 340 yards, 1 TD

Transfer destination: Ohio State

Years left: 2

Junior offensive tackle Caleb Johnson

Former four-star recruit Caleb Johnson appeared in one game during his two seasons at Notre Dame, the 2022 regular season finale at USC. The one-time Auburn commitment was looking at another year behind fellow junior-to-be tackles Blake Fisher and Joe Alt if he stayed in 2023. He was mainly a third-team tackle in 2022. He left the program before spring practice and entered the portal in April.

Portal entry date: April 19

2022 stats: One game

Transfer destination: Has not announced

Years left: 3

Senior long snapper Alex Peitsch

Alex Peitsch’s chance at becoming Notre Dame’s primary long snapper was pushed back yet another year when Michael Vinson announced in December he would return for a sixth season. Vinson, then a walk-on beat out Peitsch in 2020 preseason camp for the job and has held it since. Peitsch appeared in one game during his Irish career, a 2020 win over South Florida.

Portal entry date: Jan. 10

2022 stats: Did not play

Transfer destination: Has not announced

Years left: 3

Junior tight end Cane Berrong

Cane Berrong played one game this season, seeing five snaps in the Irish’s 44-0 win over Boston College Nov. 19. He was limited in fall camp and the early part of the year as he recovered from a torn ACL last fall. He played three games as a freshman in 2021 before suffering the injury.

Portal entry date: Dec. 12

2022 stats: One game, five offensive snaps

Transfer destination: Coastal Carolina

Years left: 3

Graduate defensive end Osita Ekwonu

Osita Ekwonu appeared in three games this season and 16 in his career, with almost all of his action coming on special teams. His only career appearance on defense came at the end of Notre Dame’s 44-0 win over Boston College on Nov. 19, 2022. He played 147 special teams snaps from 2019-20 and 2022. He missed the 2021 season due to an Achilles injury.

Portal entry date: Dec. 5

2022 stats: Three games, 8 defensive snaps, 6 special teams snaps

Transfer destination: Charlotte

Years left: 2

Freshman cornerback Jayden Bellamy

Jayden Bellamy did not appear in a game for Notre Dame as a freshman this season and took a redshirt year. He was not in uniform for the last several games of the season as he worked through concussion protocol. The Irish signed him as a three-star recruit in their 2022 class.

Portal entry date: Dec. 5

2022 stats: None

Transfer destination: Syracuse

Years left: 4

Senior quarterback Drew Pyne

Drew Pyne, Notre Dame’s 10-game starter last fall, declared Dec. 2 he would enter the transfer portal. Head coach Marcus Freeman said Pyne’s announcement came after he informed the Irish quarterbacks he would bring in a transfer at the position. Pyne took over as the starter when Buchner suffered a severe shoulder sprain Sept. 10 that required surgery.

Portal entry date: Dec. 5 (announced plans Dec. 2)

2022 stats: 2,021 yards, 22 touchdowns, 6 interceptions, 64.6 percent completion rate, 8.0 yards per attempt

Transfer destination: Arizona State

Years left: 3

Wide receiver Joe Wilkins Jr.

Joe Wilkins Jr. worked his way back from a late March Lisfranc injury to return for the 2022 opener. He played just 27 offensive snaps in five games, though, before entering his name in the portal Nov. 7. His main job this season was the “off returner” next to primary kick return man Chris Tyree. Wilkins will use the COVID-19 bonus year to play one more season of college football in 2023.

Portal entry date: Nov. 7

2022 stats: 0 catches, 27 offensive snaps, 20 special teams snaps

Transfer destination: Miami Ohio

Years left: 1

Defensive tackle Jacob Lacey

Jacob Lacey left the team the week of the Oct. 8 game vs. BYU after playing in the first four games of the season. He exited before his fifth so he could preserve a redshirt and have two years of eligibility at his next destination. When healthy, he had been part of Notre Dame’s defensive line rotation since his freshman year. He played 73 snaps in four games this year, making 5 tackles. He had 2 sacks in a Sept. 17 win over California.

Portal entry date: Oct. 6

2022 stats: 5 tackles, 2 sacks, 3 quarterback pressures

Transfer destination: Oklahoma

Years left: 2

Non-transfer portal Notre Dame offseason departures

• Graduate wide receiver Kaleb Smith (retired)

• Junior safety Justin Walters (medically retired)

• Junior linebacker Will Schweitzer (medically retired)

• Junior quarterback Ron Powlus III (medically retired)

• Junior kicker Joshua Bryan (no longer with team)

• Junior cornerback Philip Riley (no longer with team)