Notre Dame Football

BREAKING | Notre Dame Lands Grad Transfer DE Javontae Jean-Baptiste

By Matt Freeman

January 13, 2023

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Notre Dame needed to bolster its defensive line depth this offseason and the Irish have landed a big piece to the puzzle as graduate transfer defensive end Javontae Jean-Baptiste has committed to the Fighting Irish.

The 6-foot-5, 255-pounder is fresh off a five-year career at Ohio State that saw him tally 53 career tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss and eight sacks. This past season, Jean-Baptiste finished with 19 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and four sacks in 13 games for the Buckeyes, which includes 0.5 sacks against Georgia in the playoffs.

Jean-Baptiste registered a career-high four tackles against Northwestern in 2019.

Notre Dame was in the market for a defensive end and Jean-Baptiste provides not only that, but a player with high Power 5 experience as played in 47 games for the Buckeyes. The commitment also gives Al Washington another chess piece on the edge, which will allow Rylie Mills to move around and gives Al Golden the ability to dive deeper into third down sub-packages.

As a high school recruit, Jean-Baptiste played at powerhouse Bergen Catholic and was a consensus four-star prospect.

The New York native graduated from Ohio State with a degree in human development and family sciences.

Film Don't Lie | DE Javontae Jean-Baptiste

Coach | Notre Dame Adding Jean-Baptiste Is A "Win-Win"

ISD Intel | Addendum | How Important Is Jean-Baptiste To Notre Dame? ($)