Notre Dame Fighting Irish news: Recruiting and transfer buzz, Mayer, Foskey

Notre Dame football was the focal point yesterday for the various programs around the university and Fighting Irish news.

First and foremost, Michael Mayer was robbed of the John Mackey Award for the best tight end in the nation. He was statistically the best receiver of the tight ends and, without question, the best blocker; nothing more needs to be said. He will still have an incredible career in the NFL, and we can’t wait to watch him play on Sundays. Mayer and Foskey were named to the Walter Camp Football All-American first team, while sophomore Joe Alt was named to the second team.

In recruiting news, Dylan Edwards de-committed from the Notre Dame football program as he seems headed to play for Deion Sanders at Colorado. We wish him the best in his collegiate career. One quick note on that, it’s an extremely risky move to play for a coach that hasn’t had an ounce of success at this level. While he certainly would’ve been blocked for playing time early at Notre Dame, he may have a chance to get on the field early at CU.

Devin Leary once figured to be firmly on Notre Dame’s radar as a transfer quarterback, but according to a Notre Dame recruiting insider, that ship has sailed. With Hudson Card one of the bigger names left in the portal that Notre Dame football was targeting, he figures to be the top priority. If Sam Hartman or Michael Pratt enter the portal, they too could be of the absolute most importance for Rees and Freeman.

Mason Robinson, a DL prospect currently committed to Northwestern but projected to flip to Penn State, has received an offer from Notre Dame. The 6’4” 240-pounder out of Maryland has plenty of size and speed to be an impact player at the college level. It’s entirely possible the coaching staff entered the conversation too late, but that remains to be seen. As I mentioned a few weeks back, Brian Mason would be wise to look at some extra-kicking competition in the portal. He’s at least starting that process as, according to Tom Loy, the Irish will host graduate transfer kicker Spencer Shrader this weekend.

The Notre Dame football program remains squarely in the mix of transfer rumors and recruiting buzz but need to have a few things go their way. Good news on the transfer portal or recruiting front could go a long way this time of year.