Notre Dame WR Rico Flores Jr. fourth Irish wideout to enter transfer portal
The Notre Dame wide receiver room is getting turned upside down. The Fighting Irish now have officially had more wideouts enter the transfer portal this week than are slated to sign with the program as true freshmen in the class of 2024.
Rising sophomore Rico Flores Jr. became the fourth Notre Dame wide receiver to announce intent to enter the portal since the Irish beat Stanford in the regular season finale last Saturday. Only three freshmen signees are expected to ink with the Irish in the upcoming class.
That makes Flores’ departure all the more deflating. Here’s his full social media statement on entering the portal.
“I want to take this time to thank the University of Notre Dame. Thank you to my family, Coach [Chansi] Stuckey, Coach [Marcus] Freeman, the staff, support staff, media staff, the community and everyone who helped me along this journey. Thank you for taking a chance on a kid from Sacramento, California, who had a dream to make it out.
“After prayer, careful consideration and many conversations I have decided to enter the NCAA transfer portal to find a new home.
“Once again, thank you to the University of Notre Dame, fans, and community. I look forward to my next opportunity.
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Love Thee
Rico Flores Jr.”
Flores had the most catches in 2023 of any of the other three wide receiver portal goers; Chris Tyree, Tobias Merriweather and Braylon James. Flores caught 27 passes this season. Tyree had 26 catches, Merriweather had 14 and James had 1.
Like Tyree, Flores played in all 12 games. Those were Notre Dame’s two most reliable, consistent wide receivers from August through November. Flores caught the one and only touchdown pass of his freshman season against Ohio State. The score put Notre Dame ahead of the Buckeyes in the fourth quarter of what was ultimately a 17-14 loss for the Irish. Flores also caught a two-point conversion against Duke.
In the first 10 games of the season, he didn’t have more than 3 receptions in any outing. He broke out for 8 snags for 102 yards against Wake Forest in game No. 11, becoming the first Notre Dame wide receiver with at least 100 receiving yards in one game since Kevin Austin Jr. and Lorenzo Styles in the Fiesta Bowl at the end of the 2021 season.
The four-star recruit out of Folsom (Calif.) High School arrived at Notre Dame as the No. 35 wide receiver in the class of 2023. He was billed as one of the key cogs who could turn the Irish wide receiver room into something formidable. His 393 receiving yards, which ranked No. 3 on the Irish roster, suggested he was well on his way. Now, it appears he will be a useful piece of another school’s pass-catching corps.
