Over the past month, several key changes to the Notre Dame football roster for the 2025 season have begun to take shape. With players coming and going in the transfer portal during and since the College Football Playoff run, here’s a rundown of the biggest moves to this point.
Morrison declares for NFL Draft
On Thursday afternoon, star defensive player Benjamin Morrison made his declaration for the NFL Draft public. The junior cornerback, Notre Dame’s top defensive asset over the past two seasons, did not play from mid-October on due to hip surgery.
“To the people of Notre Dame, you’ve changed my life forever and I pray I’ve impacted yours,” Morrison wrote in an Instagram post. “... This is not just the end of one chapter — it’s the beginning of another. I’ll carry the lessons, memories and love from Notre Dame with me every step of the way. Thank you for making these years unforgettable and allowing me to live out my dreams. Forever Irish!”
Morrison, a 2024 team captain, burst onto the scene at the end of the 2022 season. His 96-yard pick-six against Clemson and three-interception game against Boston College propelled him to Freshman All-American status, as he led the Irish with six interceptions. Last year, he made a career-high 11 starts and picked off three passes. Entering this year as a Sporting News and ESPN Preseason First Team All-American, Morrison finished his Notre Dame career with nine interceptions and 27 passes defended.
Heading into the draft, Morrison projects as a late first-round pick and a rookie starter. As he departs, Notre Dame will likely continue to lean on rising junior Christian Gray and upcoming sophomore Leonard Moore as its starting corners.
Offensive linemen exiting for the portal
Notre Dame’s offensive line room was always going to be crowded next season. Of the nine players who started a game on the line this year, eight have the eligibility to return next season. As a result, four Irish linemen, including three of the eligible eight, have entered the transfer portal.
Sophomore guard Sam Pendleton’s portal plans went public Wednesday morning, followed by graduate guard Rocco Spindler and senior center Pat Coogan. Ty Chan, a junior, also entered the portal.
Pendleton beat out Coogan, who started all 13 games at left guard in 2023, to start in that position on opening night. However, he ended up going to the bench for the remainder of the season after junior guard Billy Schrauth returned from an injury in October. Spindler, another early-season victim to Pendleton’s ascent, became the full-time right guard for the second consecutive season when Schrauth went down in Week Three. Coogan ended up finishing the year as Notre Dame’s starting center after junior Ashton Craig suffered a season-ending injury during that same week.
Though they may not have as much depth, the Irish should have no issue fielding a fully capable offensive line out of sophomore Charles Jagusah, freshman Anthonie Knapp, junior Aamil Wagner, Schrauth and Craig.
Senior blocking wide receivers Jayden Thomas and Deion Colzie have also entered the portal since Monday’s game. Thomas finished with 18 catches for 167 yards and two touchdowns this season, while Colzie caught five passes for 41 yards and a score.
Notre Dame’s portal pickups
The Irish have already brought in players at key positions on both sides of the ball, beginning at wide receiver. On Dec. 23, they earned a commitment from soon-to-be graduate student Malachi Fields. During his four-year career at Virginia, Fields totaled 1,849 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns, posting at least 800 yards and five scores in each of the past two seasons. In both 2023 and 2024, he finished top-10 in ACC receiving yards. Fields projects to lead the Notre Dame wideout room in 2025 along with rising juniors Jordan Faison and Jaden Greathouse.
Another wide receiver, Will Pauling, committed to Notre Dame on Christmas Eve. The former Cincinnati Bearcat and Wisconsin Badger led Wisconsin in catches in both 2023 and 2024. Two seasons ago, he ranked top-eight in the Big Ten for receptions (74), receiving yards (837) and receiving touchdowns (six). On Christmas, tight end Ty Washington decided on Notre Dame, where he should slot in as the third Irish tight end. Over the past three seasons at Arkansas, Washington accumulated 14 catches for 212 yards and four touchdowns.
On defense, the Irish addressed their looming defensive tackle dearth by landing Jared Dawson from Louisville on Jan. 11. Dawson, whose next college season will be his sixth, finished second among all Cardinal defenders with 6.5 tackles for loss and four sacks this year.
Notre Dame also pulled in two secondary pieces — Jalen Stroman at safety and DeVonta Smith at nickelback. Stroman, who appeared in only one game this season at Virginia Tech due to an injury, started seven games and made 55 tackles in 2023. He’ll inherit the field safety postion that outgoing graduate student Xavier Watts played so well over the last two years. Smith stepped into a larger role with Alabama this season, posting 30 tackles and defending five passes.
It’s worth noting that Notre Dame will have a Bryce Young and a DeVonta Smith on its roster at the same time. Ask the Crimson Tide how that turned out for them in 2020.
