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Notre Dame lands Harvard graduate transfer DL Chris Smith

photos -jpgby:Ashton Pollard•04/06/22•

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Photo courtesy of Harvard

Midway through spring practice, there were numerous questions about the Notre Dame defensive line, so the coaching staff turned to the transfer portal.

On Wednesday, former Harvard defensive lineman Chris Smith announced he will finish out his one year of collegiate eligibility at Notre Dame. The nose tackle was previously committed to Minnesota and also held offers from Syracuse, Vanderbilt, Virginia and Virginia Tech.

“I’d like to thank my family, teammates and coaches for supporting me during my time at Harvard,” Smith wrote in his tweet. “Excited to finish my career at the University of Notre Dame!”

Smith, a 6-2, 293-pound Detroit native, earned First-Team All-Ivy League honors in 2021 after playing in 10 games for the Crimson. The Ivy League plays a 10-game regular season. He totaled 40 tackles (fifth on the team at Harvard), five tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and two forced fumbles en route to an 8-2 record.

The defenseman played in nine games as a freshman and 10 games as a sophomore. His junior season was wiped out by COVID-19, as the Ivy League did not play in 2020. Smith’s stat line from his three years of action was 72 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, five quarterback hurries, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.

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Smith is the second Harvard transfer the Irish have grabbed ahead of the 2022 season, as punter Jon Sot will also join the Irish this summer.

Irish were seeking interior defensive line help

After losing defensive tackles Kurt Hinish and Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa to the NFL, plus 6-3, 310-pound interior lineman Aidan Keanaaina to an ACL tear, Notre Dame had a relatively small set of players from which to pull at the defensive tackle position.

Seniors Howard Cross and Jacob Lacey are a bit smaller than your average nose guard. Cross is 6-1 while Lacey is 6-1 ⅝ according the Notre Dame roster. The Irish roster says Cross is around 275, while Lacey told reporters on Tuesday that he is currently around 280 pounds.

While the early returns on Cross and Lacey were good — Cross had a very notable showing in an open practice two weekends ago — the acquisition of Smith makes great sense here. Hopefully for Freeman and defensive line coach Al Washington, a quick but slightly larger defensive lineman in Smith will fill any holes the Irish have.

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