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Notre Dame Football
Instant Reaction: Perry Transferring
April 6, 2017
6,498
Spencer Perry didn't come in to Notre Dame with lofty expectations. A former 3 star recruit, he transferred to IMG Academy to play his senior year of high school but an injury stopped that season short. He then came to South Bend as an early enrollee to get a head start on things, but didn't see the field at safety as a true freshman.
I know I was in the camp that believed he was eventually going to move to linebacker in college after starting out as a strong safety. I actually think he may have found a nice fit at Rover if he committed to playing there long term. His strengths were playing as a physical player closer to the line of scrimmage. I didn't see a fit for him as a deep safety and the Notre Dame coaches felt the same. He was moved to Rover early this spring.
Perry clearly doesn't see it that way and wants a chance to play safety. He is now looking for another program to give him a chance to do so. I wish him the best of luck, but that's obviously not a concern for Irish coaching staff going forward. They need to worry about what his absence means for this current Notre Dame squad.
He was not in the mix for significant playing time at Rover with Asmar Bilal and Drue Tranquill clearly ahead of him. I think Perry had a lot of work to do in order to compete for a spot this fall, but losing him does mean the depth will take a hit, especially if the staff doesn't feel good about the situation at strong safety and are forced to play Tranquill.
This means that someone like true freshman Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah is likely to play this season instead of redshirting. I would not have been surprised if he passed Perry on the depth chart this summer, but now he almost has no choice but to be ready. And if there are injury issues this season at that spot, he may have to play quite a bit if they don't decide to move another player.
Perry isn't an immediate loss and perhaps he never would have cracked the line up as a starter given the upside of Owusu-Koramoah and some of the players they are recruiting at Rover in this current class. It is a hit to the depth chart, though, albeit not one that I expect to hurt the Irish that much this season.
I know I was in the camp that believed he was eventually going to move to linebacker in college after starting out as a strong safety. I actually think he may have found a nice fit at Rover if he committed to playing there long term. His strengths were playing as a physical player closer to the line of scrimmage. I didn't see a fit for him as a deep safety and the Notre Dame coaches felt the same. He was moved to Rover early this spring.
I know I was in the camp that believed he was eventually going to move to linebacker in college after starting out as a strong safety. I actually think he may have found a nice fit at Rover if he committed to playing there long term.
Perry clearly doesn't see it that way and wants a chance to play safety. He is now looking for another program to give him a chance to do so. I wish him the best of luck, but that's obviously not a concern for Irish coaching staff going forward. They need to worry about what his absence means for this current Notre Dame squad.
He was not in the mix for significant playing time at Rover with Asmar Bilal and Drue Tranquill clearly ahead of him. I think Perry had a lot of work to do in order to compete for a spot this fall, but losing him does mean the depth will take a hit, especially if the staff doesn't feel good about the situation at strong safety and are forced to play Tranquill.
This means that someone like true freshman Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah is likely to play this season instead of redshirting. I would not have been surprised if he passed Perry on the depth chart this summer, but now he almost has no choice but to be ready. And if there are injury issues this season at that spot, he may have to play quite a bit if they don't decide to move another player.
Perry isn't an immediate loss and perhaps he never would have cracked the line up as a starter given the upside of Owusu-Koramoah and some of the players they are recruiting at Rover in this current class. It is a hit to the depth chart, though, albeit not one that I expect to hurt the Irish that much this season.
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