An already shaky Notre Dame special teams unit took another hit last week. Punter James Rendell, who had petitioned the NCAA for another year of eligibility, was turned down. He's now done playing in South Bend. And the Irish, already having problems with the kicking game, need to find another top-notch punter. Could Erik Schmidt step into the breach?
During his ND career, the 25-year-old Australian punted 75 times for a 42.7-yard average, with just 25 of those efforts coming in 2025. Marcus Freeman's offense didn't call for Rendell getting on the field all that much. However, when he did, he was mostly very effective.
The two-year starter for Notre Dame boosted his average to 44.6 and downed nine punts inside the opponents' 20-yard-line. Just two punts were returned against the Irish this year for a 5.5-yard average as Rendell’s 3.97-second average hang time forced 12 fair catches. He recorded just one touchback in his Irish career, that coming this season against Boise State.
Could Erik Schmidt provide Notre Dame football an in-house punting solution?
In other words, it's a significant loss for a special teams unit that has been a weak point of the last two seasons. The Irish will likely need to get their replacement from the transfer portal. However, Schmidt does provide a potential in-house replacement.
The 6-foot-2, 210-pound Schmidt never punted in a game, but he was ranked as the nation's top punter in the 2025 recruiting class by Kohl's Kicking, the nationwide authority on such matters.
Last year, Schmidt mostly handled kickoffs, though he did try to take over the starting kicker job in his freshman year. It didn't go that well. While he did hit 41 of 42 extra points, he was 0-for-3 on field goal attempts.
Perhaps a move to a new position could be what Schmidt needs to juice his career. Notre Dame might find it easier to grab a kicker out of the portal than a punter. This is a story to watch when everything kicks up a notch on January 2.