At his National Signing Day presser, Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly spoke about some of the rumors of possible 5th year transfers into Notre Dame. Although he didn’t provide any names, almost anyone with a pulse knew he was talking about Cal safety, Avery Sebastian. It never seemed as if it was a question of “if” Sebastian would head to South Bend for his final year of eligibility, but “when” he would pull the trigger. The wait is over as Sebastian made it official Thursday night.
During this past recruiting cycle, Notre Dame was in search of adding two safeties to the class. However, on February 4th, the Irish signed only one safety in Mykelti Williams. With uncertainty surrounding the health of Nicky Baratti moving forward, and a lack of depth at the position, this is welcome news for Irish fans.
As great as that is, it makes the roster situation that much more volatile. The addition of Sebastian puts the Irish at 89 scholarships for the 2015 season, and that number has to get down to 85 by fall camp.
| Freshman Eligibility | Sophomore Eligibility | Junior Eligibility | Senior Eligibility | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterback | Brandon Wimbush Deshone Kizer* | Malik Zaire* | Everett Golson* | |
| Running Back | Josh Adams Dexter Williams | Greg Bryant* | Tarean Folston | |
| Wide Receiver | Jalen Guyton Miles Boykin CJ Sanders Equanimeous St. Brown | Corey Holmes Justin Brent Torii Hunter Jr.* | Will Fuller Corey Robinson CJ Procise* | Chris Brown Amir Carlisle* |
| TightEnd | Alize Jones Nic Weishar | Mike Heuerman* Durham Smythe* Tyler Luatua | ||
| O Tackle | Alex Bars* Quenton Nelson* | Hunter Biven* Mike McGlinchey* | Ronnie Stanley* | |
| O Guard | Jimmy Byrne* Sam Mustipher* Trevor Ruhland | Colin McGovern* John Montelus* | Steve Elmer Mark Harrell* | |
| Center | Tristan Hoge | Matt Hegarty* Nick Martin* |
||
| Defensive End | Jhonathon Williams* Bo Wallace | Grant Blankenship Kolin Hill Andrew Trumbetti | Isaac Rochell | Ishaq Williams* |
| Defensive Tackle | Jonathon Bonner* Pete Mokwuah* Elijah Taylor Micah Dew-Treadway Brandon Tiasum | Jacob Matuska* Jay Hayes Daniel Cage | Jarron Jones* | Sheldon Day |
| Linebacker | Asmar Bilal Josh Barajas Tevon Coney | Michael Deeb* Doug Randolph* Greer Martini Nyles Morgan | John Turner* Jaylon Smith James Onwualu | Ben Councell* Jarrett Grace* Joe Schmidt* Romeo Okwara |
| Safety | Mykelti Williams Nicco Fertitta | Drue Tranquill | Max Redfield Nicky Baratti* | Elijah Shumate Mathias Farley* |
| Cornerback | Nick Coleman Shawn Crawford Ashton White | Nick Watkins | Cole Luke Devin Butler | KeiVarae Russell |
| Special Teams | Tyler Newsome* Justin Yoon | Scott Daly* | ||
| Numbers | 34/85 | 58/85 | 75/85 | 89/85 |
So, how is this going to work? Brian Kelly had suggested that they were looking into more than just one possible 5th year transfer to come to Notre Dame. How will the Irish trim the roster by 4- or more if another guy decides to make South Bend his home for a year? Here is a list of names that could possibly, for one reason or another, be one of the players that won’t be on the roster next fall:
| Everett Golson | Mathias Farley |
| Amir Carlisle | Ishaq Williams |
| Justin Brent | Nicky Baratti |
| Ben Councell | Mike Heuerman |
There is still a lot of different scenarios that can and will play out, so I won’t speculate too much on what may happen to whom, but with surplus of 4 bodies with more possibly on the way… we are entering uncharted territory at Notre Dame. For the better, the Irish will most certainly (and FINALLY) start a season with the full allotment of players. After last season’s depth issues, Brian Kelly is showing that he will change things- not just because it is what he wants, but also because these are the things that must be done in order to make a serious run at a National Championship.
