With National Signing Day just a few weeks away, I can’t help but think about the past recruiting classes for Notre Dame. So much is made at this time of year about decommitments and snipe hunting and being left all alone at the alter- it is easy to forget about some names that disappear after a shorter than expected stay.
It begs the question, “What hurts the program more; a transfer or a recruiting decommitment?”
I don’t have a real answer yet, and maybe because it’s the fact that circumstances are always fluid (think Butterfly Effect fluid). What I did come up with, is a list of Notre Dame players that have transferred out of Notre Dame based upon recruiting classes over the past decade.
| Recruiting Class | Player | Destination |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | DT Derrell Hand | West Virginia Wesleyan |
| 2005 | TE Joey Hiben | Minnesota |
| 2006 | OL Matt Carufel | Minnesota |
| 2006 | QB Zach Frazer | UConn |
| 2006 | DB Jashaad Gaines | Texas Southern |
| 2006 | WR Dick Jackson | Central Florida |
| 2006 | QB Demetrius Jones | Cincinnati |
| 2006 | RB Munir Prince | Missouri |
| 2006 | TE Konrad Reuland | Stanford |
| 2006 | TE Will Yeatman | Maryland |
| 2007 | LB Aaron Nagel | Northwestern |
| 2008 | TE Joe Fauria | UCLA |
| 2009 | DB EJ Banks | Pitt |
| 2009 | OL Alex Bullard | Tennessee |
| 2009 | WR Shaq Evans | UCLA |
| 2010 | DB Chris Badger | BYU |
| 2010 | DB Spencer Boyd | South Florida |
| 2010 | DB Derek Roback | Ohio |
| 2011 | WR DaVaris Daniels | NFL via suspension |
| 2011 | DE Aaron Lynch | South Florida |
| 2012 | WR Justin Ferguson | Western Michigan |
| 2012 | QB Gunner Kiel | Cincinnati |
| 2012 | RB Will Mahone | Youngstown St. |
| 2012 | WR Davonte Neal | Arizona |
| 2012 | DB Tee Shepard | Mississippi via Crazy |
| 2013 | DB Rashad Kinlaw | DISMISSED |
| 2013 | DT Eddie Vanderdoes | UCLA w/sick note |
That list was of regular transfers (no matter how strange) only and suspended players heading elsewhere. Daniels counts because of no activity in 2014. This list does not include any 5th year transfers such as Andrew Hendrix or Steve Paskorz, and it does not include guys that took a medical hardship like Bartley Webb or Brad Carrico.
As I look at the list two things continue to come to mind:
- A lot of these names never amounted to much either at ND or anywhere else.
- The HUGE number of guys that transferred away from Notre Dame that were in the 2006 class tells a tale of mass confusion and a lack of planning during the Weis era.
More names will get added to this list this year and next year and the year after that. It’s inevitable at any program. The key is when this works more like addition by subtraction than just- well… subtraction. The ultimate litmus test besides the win and loss column, is how close a team is to that 85 man scholarship limit each fall. How will Brian Kelly address this situation this spring, summer, and fall? The answer may provide just how happy you are next winter.
