Second Notre Dame football receiver to enter the portal

The Notre Dame football team has lost another receiver to the transfer portal and the fifth player overrall since the start of Monday.

A surprising exodus from the Notre Dame football team continued on Wednesday afternoon. The second wide receiver to announce his intention to enter the portal and fifth Fighting Irish player overall is Tobias Merriweather.

Merriweather’s announcement would normally be quite surprising, had the team not just fired his position coach. On Monday, head coach Marcus Freeman announced that he wanted to keep his staff intact if it was at all possible. On Tuesday, Freeman announced Chansi Stuckey was fired.

It seems likely that while things weren’t made official until a few days ago, there were at least rumblings that Stuckey might be on his way out. On Monday, one of the team’s leading receivers in Christ Tyree was one of the first Golden Domers to announce his intention to enter the portal.

At the time, the move made little sense. In hindsight it appears Tyree and now Merriweather want the option to go wherever Stuckey ends up, assuming he gets another job for the upcoming season.

Interestingly enough Freeman cited a lack of development of the young receivers as one of the reasons he decided to part ways with Stuckey. However, Merriweather did see some improvement as the season went on.

Notre Dame football loses second receiver to the portal

The true sophomore had a slow start to the season before notching a 45-yard catch at NC State on Sept. 9. A week later, he recorded three catches for 91 yards and a touchdown at home versus Central Michigan.

On the year, he totaled 14 catches for 284 yards and two touchdowns.

His departure mostly complicates the wide receiver picture for the Notre Dame football team heading into 2024. It also adds an air of mystery to just who the Fighting Irish will have on hand for whoever they land in the portal at quarterback, to throw to.