Former Notre Dame LB Nolan Ziegler commits to Central Michigan
It didn’t take long for former Notre Dame linebacker Nolan Ziegler to find his next school. He’s going back to his home state of Michigan to suit up for the Central Michigan Chippewas.
Ziegler entered the transfer portal on Dec. 30, one day after Notre Dame beat Oregon State, 40-8, in the Tony The Tiger Sun Bowl. The Caledonia, Mich., native announced his decision to join the Chips as a linebacker and receiver on Thursday.
Ziegler played in three games on special teams and in one game on defense after missing much of the season for personal reasons. He made his season debut against USC, playing 10 times on special teams; four kick return snaps and 6 kick coverage snaps. Defensively, he played three snaps against Pittsburgh.
As a true freshman in 2022, Ziegler played nine defensive snaps. He came down to South Bend as a four-star recruit and the No. 29 linebacker in his class according to the On3 Industry Ranking that year. He had scholarship offers from Michigan, Iowa, Nebraska and others out of Catholic Central High School in addition to Notre Dame.
Ziegler is one of more than a dozen players who transferred out of Notre Dame since the portal opened in early December. Notre Dame also welcomed in half a dozen transfers from other programs; quarterback Riley Leonard and defensive end R.J. Oben of Duke, wide receivers Kris Mitchell of Florida International and Beaux Collins of Clemson, defensive back Jordan Clark of Arizona State and kicker Mitch Jeter of South Carolina.
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The transfer portal closed earlier this week, but there might be a few more names to pop in there by the end of the week. It takes a couple days for names to appear in the portal after the players officially enter.
Notre Dame might still be in the market for another defensive back, wide receiver or offensive lineman to bolster depth at those positions. The Irish certainly handled business and took care of business via the portal early in the cycle, but a surprise commitment or two could come about late in the process as well.
As for the position Ziegler is vacating, Jack Kiser is the only returning senior or graduate student. It’ll be his final season as a collegiate player. Drayk Bowen and Jaylen Sneed both have three years of eligibility remaining, and the rest of the Irish’s linebackers — be they true freshmen or redshirt freshmen — have four years of eligibility.
Check out the updated Notre Dame football scholarship chart here.
