Notre Dame LB Prince Kollie Enters NCAA Transfer Portal

Notre Dame linebacker Prince Kollie has entered the NCAA Transfer Portal after two seasons with the Fighting Irish. 

The 6-foot, 228-pounder appeared in 23 games for Notre Dame and tallied 33 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and returned a blocked punt for a touchdown in 2022 against Clemson. 

Kollie had missed the last two weeks of spring practice dealing with a concussion according to Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman. 

“Prince Kollie is still in concussion protocol,” Freeman said on April 16th. “It happened last week, last Saturday, I think. So, I hope to get him back this upcoming week and try and get some more reps out him for Saturday, but he's in the concussion protocol.”

In 2022, it seemed Kollie was close to cracking through after missing the first three games of the year as he played 104 snaps over a five-game stretch, including a career-high seven tackles against Navy. Kollie finished the season playing just 14 plays combined against USC and South Carolina as he finished his sophomore year with 19 tackles. 

Defensive coordinator Al Golden said Kollie was set to be in the rotation in the fall, but Freeman also acknowledged it’s hard to play a ton of bodies at linebacker. 

“That’s the beauty and sometimes the difficulties of a team sport is that you have really good players all in one room,” Freeman stated. “Only one, two, at certain positions three can get on the field at a time. You have to build that trust and that unselfishness in that room while also developing their skill set. It’s a really challenging thing to do as a position coach, which I’ve been in that position.” 

As a recruit, the Tennessee native chose Notre Dame over Georgia, Louisville, LSU and Oklahoma, but the Irish had to fight until the end as Kollie’s main recruiter, Clark Lea, left to be the head coach at Vanderbilt. 

Notre Dame’s depth at linebacker for the 2023 season will take a hit, but it’s not an issue they can’t overcome as early enrollee freshmen Drayk Bowen and Jaidan Ausberry have had strong springs. Veterans Jack Kiser and JD Bertrand have also spent time at the Will position as Nolan Ziegler is being groomed to take over the Mike spot. Kollie’s departure doesn't likely mean Notre Dame will need to bump the number of linebackers it takes in the 2024 recruiting class up. 

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