BREAKING | Notre Dame DL Jacob Lacey Set to Enter the Transfer Portal
Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman announced senior defensive lineman Jacob Lacey has decided to step away from the Fighting Irish football program and plans to enter the Transfer Portal following the season as a graduate transfer.
"He's no longer a part of the team,” Freeman said on Thursday. “He will look to transfer probably at the end of the season after the semester is over. That's about it."
The 6-foot-1, 280-pounder played in four games in 2022 and shined during the Cal game, where he tallied five tackles, two tackles for loss and two sacks.
This wasn’t an easy decision for Lacey as he loves Notre Dame and one that wasn’t made without much thought. Lacey spent the last two weeks debating his future with the program and settled on utilizing the Transfer Portal to get a fresh start on Tuesday morning.
“Jacob Lacey was a great player and Lacey did a lot of great things for us, but it's a deep position,” said Freeman. “He made a decision that, ultimately, he felt was best for him and we respect that. We love Jacob. The best thing about it is he leaves here with a degree in his hand.
“That's what I want for these young men, is that if you decide to leave in hopes of going somewhere and playing more, don't waste this opportunity to earn a degree from this university. He got that.”
Lacey has played in 37 games during his time at Notre Dame and has tallied 35 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and one pass deflection.
As a sophomore, Lacey played through a nagging shoulder injury to help Notre Dame make the College Football Playoff and then followed it up with a solid junior campaign where he recorded 12 tackles and two tackles for loss, including a massive TFL against Wisconsin.
The decision comes after Lacey played in four games this season, so when it comes to the big picture, the Kentucky native will have two years of college football available to him.
The 2018 Kentucky 5A Player of the Year chose the Irish over Clemson, Louisville, Michigan, Michigan State and Tennessee.
As for what it means for the Notre Dame defensive line, the Irish will count on graduate transfer Chris Smith, sophomore Gabe Rubio and have elevated sophomore Jason Onye.
"I think you'll see Chris Smith playing a little bit more,” said Freeman. “It's just a position that's extremely deep. The defensive tackle position right now is one of the deepest positions we have on our team.
“Chris Smith will play a little bit more. But you'll see a guy like Gabe Rubio playing more. Jason Onye will now probably move from scout team. He's moved from scout team to getting reps with the defense.”
Jamie Uyeyama’s Thoughts:
Losing a player like Jacob Lacey is not insignificant. He's played a lot of football for Notre Dame since the 2019 season and battled through injuries through most of it.
His two sacks against Cal this season were huge as was his ability to step up against Wisconsin last year when Kurt Hinish was out. No one wants to lose a player that they know can help the team like that.
With that being said, defensive tackle is easily the deepest position on the team for Notre Dame, which is why Lacey wasn't playing that much. With Howard Cross III, Jayson Ademilola, Chris Smith, Gabriel Rubio, and Rylie Mills rushing from the interior in passing situations, there weren't a ton of snaps to go around. Losing Lacey only means that Smith and Rubio will both get more opportunities to play and they've played well in their opportunities this season.
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