Irish add DT Elijah Hughes (usc)
DT Jared Dawson (Louisville)
Kicker Noah Burnette (unc)
DT Jared Dawson (Louisville)
Kicker Noah Burnette (unc)
Portal additions
- Thread starter Irish215
- Start date
Wow! What a day! Like the old signing day. Three BIG pickups at positions of need....
Totally happy with Burnette and Dawson. Both are proven high quality guys at two positions of need. Golden and Washington must see something in Hughes that isn’t apparent from his limited playing stats. Overall, our portal transfers have nicely complimented our needs.
Plus you got the kid from Alabama and VATech. Stroman from VA tech. Both safety types.
I did a little digging on Hughes and didn't find much. But I like the fact that he played several other sports beside football in HS. He played basketball and competed in throw events (shot put and discus) in track and field. When you get players who have played other sports it generally indicates they have some athleticism. He is only a sophomore, so I assume the staff wouldn't have taken him unless they saw something they could work with.
And so we got our DTs, and their names just popped in the portal. And we did what we needed to do. Maybe there's more to come, I don't know what the roster numbers are, or who might want to transfer out.
Looks like recruiting kickers out of high school is a thing of the past for ND. Last time was 2021 Joshua Bryan, transfered with out much notice.
We signed a very good one this recruiting class
There was an article last year when they basically said as much; that it was easier to get a proven kicker from the portal than the risk of bringing in a kid who may not pan out.
Smith is likely the top Nickel corner transfer in CFB, it was an excellent pickup.
I trust the staff. No reason not to.
Stroman was a projected 2-3 round NFL pick. Brother in the league. Love the experience (we see how experience has helped in the run) and the fit of this year's portal picks. Smith, Fields, Stroman, and maybe Dawson are all future NFL-ers.
