Ohio State transfer DE Javontae Jean-Baptiste commits to Notre Dame
Notre Dame lost a potential sixth-year pass rusher when Justin Ademilola declared for the NFL Draft. It has now gained one from the transfer portal.
Former Ohio State defensive end Javontae Jean-Baptiste announced Friday he will transfer to Notre Dame for his final year of college football. He will use the COVID-19 blanket waiver to play the 2023 season, which will be his sixth. His decision comes one week after he took a visit to campus.
The 6-foot-5, 249-pound Jean-Baptiste had 19 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 4 sacks and 1 forced fumble in 13 games (250 snaps) this season. All were career highs. Pro Football Focus credited him with 14 quarterback pressures. His best statistical performances of the year came in wins over Toledo (2 sacks, 5 pressures) and Iowa (1.5 sacks, 5 pressures). He had 0.5 sacks in the Buckeyes’ 42-41 loss to Georgia in the College Football Playoff.
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All told, Jean-Baptiste has 53 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, 8 sacks, 49 pressures, 1 forced fumble and 1 pass broken up in 47 career games (928 defensive snaps). He graduated in May 2022 with a degree in human development and family sciences. He entered his name in the transfer portal Jan. 3, four days after Ohio State lost to Georgia. He also visited Ole Miss during his transfer recruitment.
The Irish pursuing a transfer defensive end felt likely when Isaiah Foskey – the program’s all-time sack leader (26.5) – declared for the NFL Draft in December. It became a top priority when Ademilola announced Jan. 6 he was foregoing a sixth season to turn pro. Ademilola was Foskey’s backup at the vyper defensive end spot in 2021 and the first half of 2022 before he started five of the final six games at field end.
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Jean-Baptiste could fit at either end position. As it stands, senior-to-be Jordan Botelho would be the primary competition at vyper. He started the Gator Bowl in Foskey’s place, notching 2 sacks in the win over South Carolina. He had 11 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks in 2022. Rising fifth-year player Nana Osafo-Mensah and senior Rylie Mills are options at strong-side end. Osafo-Mensah has logged at least 200 defensive snaps in each of the last two years. Mills played on the interior and outside in 2022, totaling 415 snaps.
The Irish also have sophomores-to-be Joshua Burnham and Aiden Gobaira at defensive end. Classmate Junior Tuihalamaka played vyper in the bowl game after spending the regular season and last spring at linebacker. Incoming freshmen Boubacar Traore and Armel Mukam will likely begin their careers at field end.
Jean-Baptiste is the fifth transfer Notre Dame has added since mid-December. He joins kicker Spencer Shrader (South Florida), wide receiver Kaleb Smith (Virginia Tech), quarterback Sam Hartman (Wake Forest) and defensive back Thomas Harper (Oklahoma State) as portal imports. All are grad transfers with one year to play. The Irish’s previous high for scholarship transfers added in one offseason was four in 2020.
Ohio State signed Jean-Baptiste out of Oradell (N.J.) Bergen Catholic in the 2018 recruiting class. He was a four-star prospect and the No. 201 overall player in the 2018 On3 Consensus.
