Notre Dame football: Transfer portal wide receiver targets

Notre Dame football has a plethora of young talented wide receivers, but who are some experienced receivers they can target in the portal?

Notre Dame football: Theo Wease (Oklahoma)

Theo Wease has officially entered the transfer portal as a graduate transfer with two years of eligibility remaining. Wease, highly recruited out of Texas, was ranked as the 3rd best WR in his class according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. Unfortunately, the production hasn’t quite been there for Theo as he only has 64 receptions for 1044 yards and 10 touchdowns in his career. That includes a slow first year and him being injured for nearly his entire junior season. Nonetheless, he would be a huge addition to this Notre Dame football team.

While he may have lost a step since his injury, he still has solid speed and ample size to produce when given a chance. At 6’3″ and 205 pounds, Wease is a big target with solid route-running skills and a jump-ball winner at the position.

"“Terrorizes smaller defenders in the red zone. Fifty-fifty ball-winner thanks to high-pointing ability, timing, and size more so than leaping ability” – 247Sports recruiting analyst Gabe Brooks on Wease"

Expect multiple teams to be targeting his services in the transfer portal. Schools from his home state that could be in the running to land him are Texas, TCU, and Texas A&M. I also expect his former coach, Lincoln Riley, and USC to reach out if they already haven’t.

Notre Dame football: Malik Washington and Nate McCollum (Northwestern/Georgia Tech)

Malik Washington is yet another graduate transfer, this time out of Northwestern. With Brandon Joseph on the roster and similar academics in the fold, they’d have a real shot if Notre Dame football went after Malik. After quiet freshman and sophomore seasons, Malik has taken off over the last couple of years. Over the past two seasons, Washington had 109 catches for 1272 yards and 3 touchdowns. He’s a bit on the shorter side at 5’9″, but he has the separation and route-running ability you’d look for in a guy his size.

Nate McCollum is not yet a graduate so landing him might be a bit more complicated than the other two. As the leading receiver for Georgia Tech last year, it’s at least worth exploring for coach Freeman and Stuckey. McCollum had 711 total yards from scrimmage and 4 total touchdowns. Again, he is not the tallest receiver at 5’11”, but he is someone with time under his belt that this Notre Dame football program could use.

Given the size that Colzie and Merriweather have on the outside, bringing in a proven route-runner with separation ability and experience would be all the Irish need. Someone that can win their route and give the quarterback, whoever that is, a target to throw to.

The Irish are in a great spot at wide receiver moving forward, but some immediate help certainly wouldn’t hurt. With the program looking to vault back into contention, landing some proven pass-catchers is something the staff should explore.