Notre Dame football transfer tracker: Who's joining the Irish in 2023?
It’s transfer portal season. Notre Dame has seen a handful of players depart the program since the portal opened on Dec. 5, most notably quarterback Drew Pyne making a move to Arizona State.
The Fighting Irish have also welcomed a handful of incoming transfers, that group headlined by former Wake Forest quarterback Sam Hartman. Head coach Marcus Freeman spoke glowingly of Hartman soon after his commitment.
Below is a running list of players Notre Dame has pulled from the portal to add to its 2022 roster.
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Kicker Spencer Shrader
Committed to Notre Dame: Dec. 13, 2022
Previous school: USF
2022 stats: 9-of-13 on field goals, 37-of-37 on extra points
Career stats: 28-of-41 field goals, 95-of-96 extra points
Notable: This is the second consecutive season Notre Dame has snagged a graduate student kicker from the portal. Former Arkansas State kicker Blake Grupe went 14-of-19 on field goals and 49-of-49 on extra points in his lone season as the Irish’s place kicker. As it stands, Shrader will battle rising junior Josh Bryan for the starting job in 2023.
Wide Receiver Kaleb Smith
Committed to Notre Dame: Dec. 21, 2022
Previous school: Virginia Tech
2022 stats: 37 catches, 674 yards, 3 touchdowns
Career stats: 74 catches, 1,143 yards, 7 touchdowns
Notable: Smith gives Notre Dame a big-bodied, possession-keeping, chain-moving receiver who can make plays in short and intermediate situations. He’s not a deep-ball burner, but he’s a sure-handed player who’s shifty for his size and can come away with the type of catches that keep drives alive and ultimately result in points on the board.
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Quarterback Sam Hartman
Committed to Notre Dame: Jan. 5, 2023
Previous school: Wake Forest
2022 stats: 270-of-428 (63.1%), 3,701 yards, 31 touchdowns, 12 interceptions; 102 rushing attempts, 129 yards, 1 touchdown
Career stats: 944-of-1,597 (59.1%), 12,967 yards, 110 touchdowns, 41 interceptions; 416 rushes, 856 yards, 17 touchdowns
Notable: Hartman is exactly what Notre Dame was looking for in a transfer portal quarterback. He has five years of experience and was one of the best Power Five signal-callers in the country the last two seasons. Rising junior Tyler Buchner might be Notre Dame’s future starter, but he needed to be pushed and placed in an uncomfortable situation in order to improve. Hartman’s arrival makes that a reality.
Defensive back Thomas Harper
Committed to Notre Dame: Jan. 6, 2023
Previous school: Oklahoma State
2022 stats: 30 total tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, 1 interception, 2 passes defended
Career stats: 93 total tackles, 5 tackles for loss, 2 interceptions, 1 fumble recovery, 1 forced fumble
Notable: With Branson Joseph entering the NFL Draft, Houston Griffith out of eligibility and DJ Brown potentially moving on from the program, Notre Dame needed to bring in an experienced back-end player. Harper is just that.
