Notre Dame football: 5 early questions for the 2021 season

What’s Going on With the Transfers? How Big a Deal is this?

By now, you’ve noticed that there has been an exodus of transfers out of Notre Dame. Jack Lamb, Houston Griffith, and Ovie Oghoufo among several others are all out. It’s a list that included players who seemed like they could compete for significant playing time, while others, like Jafar Armstrong, are on to find playing time that they wouldn’t get at Notre Dame.

This shouldn’t be a surprise. There are actually concerns going around that too many players around college football will transfer, leaving nowhere for a large number of players to go play. This is related to the extra year of eligibility that’s being given to players, coupled with the fact that there will only be expanded rosters for one season means that coaches are going to be concerned about their roster makeup in the long run.

It is also expected that there will be a new one-time transfer rule added this offseason, allowing players to transfer once without penalty. All of this, from players looking to find a place to play and coaches concerned about their roster size, has caused a rush of players into the transfer portal. Notre Dame is not exempt.

As it pertains to Notre Dame, it stinks to lose players who could have contributed. Several defensive players, such as Lamb and Griffith, could be moving on because defensive coordinator Clark Lea is moving on. Maybe they know someone is coming in who’d beat them out, or they want to be assured of their spot in the starting rotation at a lower level.

Whatever the case, these are not abnormal and they’re not an issue unique to Notre Dame.

It’s also important to remember that Notre Dame will likely take several transfers into the program. Jack Coan, a quarterback from Wisconsin, is already with the Irish. More will likely follow, balancing the losses.