Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman has been adamant that he intends to build the Irish program through recruiting and supplement the roster each year with transfer portal plugins. Thursday night’s Sugar Bowl victory over Georgia, the program’s first NY6 bowl win in three decades, was a shining example of how Freeman has done just that. Notre Dame’s transfer portal pickups from last year all played huge roles in its 23-10 CFP quarterfinal victory.
Seven of the eight transfers Notre Dame took in the last cycle made impactful plays in the Sugar Bowl.
Riley Leonard
Notre Dame’s starting quarterback didn’t top 100 yards passing for the first time this year – his previous low was 112 in the route of Purdue – but he willed his team to victory on Thursday night with a gutty performance. Notre Dame couldn’t get its ground game going against the stout Georgia defense, but when Notre Dame needed a drive to milk some clock and secure the win, Leonard did it it with his legs.
Leonard ran for 80 yards on 14 carries – his highest rushing total since week four and his highest attempt total of the season. He also left Notre Dame fans with this iconic play.
Leonard’s stats have not always looked pretty, but he has proven to be a warrior. When the offense needs a drive, he’s been there this year. Penn State has an excellent defense, too, but they don’t have the dudes at the level that Georgia has. Look for Leonard to pass for well over 90 yards on Thursday, as we’ll see more of his arm.
RJ Oben
It was a very quiet year from the other Duke transfer on the roster. In fact, it would have been easy for Notre Dame fans to forget that Oben was expected to fill the role that Javontae Jean Baptiste last year. Before the Sugar Bowl, Oben had not even registered a quarterback hit this year, let alone a sack. Thursday night, he delivered one of the biggest sacks of the year for the Irish with the game-changing strip sack of Gunner Stockton at the end of the first half.
Oben had his best PFF grade of the season – a team-high 92 – in the Sugar Bowl. With Rylie Mills out, Notre Dame needed others to step up and provide the pass rush that Mills has been delivering. Oben did just that. He only had six pressures on the season but had two against Georgia. Notre Dame needs another performance like that from Oben in the Orange Bowl.
Jayden Harrison
Kick returns haven’t been a weapon for Notre Dame for most of the year. They were on Thursday night. With Notre Dame up 13-3 to start the second half, a touchdown on their first drive would be massive. They didn’t need a drive to deliver the touchdown, with Harrison making a house call from 98 yards out to give the Irish a 20-3. Harrison patiently waited for an opening to develop and then turned on the afterburners to take it the distance. So much for that SEC speed.
JAYDEN HARRISON
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) January 2, 2025
9️⃣8️⃣ YARDS#GoIrish | @j_harrison5
pic.twitter.com/58i6kwbw3H
Notre Dame targeted Harrison in the portal specifically to make plays like this. It didn’t happen in the regular season, but when it was needed most, they got a massive play from one of their transfers.
Mitch Jeter
No one on the Notre Dame roster has had as much of a rollercoaster season as kicker Mitch Jeter. He started the year nailing three field goals against Texas A&M on the road, including a 46-yarder to ice the game. Then he got hurt in late October, and by the end of the season, even extra points looked challenging for him. However, we saw the Jeter from week one on Thursday night, as he’s gotten back to full strength. Jeter hit all three of his field goal attempts, including a 48-yarder. He also resumed kickoff duties and sent all but one of his kickoffs into the endzone for a touchback.
Jeter was still shaky as recently as the first-round playoff win over Indiana. He made a season-long 49-yard field goal in the game but then had a chip shot blocked because of a very low trajectory on the kick. Thursday night, he was perfect. Notre Dame will need Jeter to be on his game again in the Orange Bowl against a Penn State defense capable of making Notre Dame settle for field goals.
Jordan Clark
Whoever has been in charge of Notre Dame’s pursuit of nickel corners in the portal deserves a raise because, for the second year in a row, Notre Dame landed a great nickel corner. Clark didn’t have any major standout plays, but he logged 44 snaps, and just as he has done all season long, he played his position well. He did log another pass breakup, giving him five on the season. Like Thomas Harper last year, Clark has been outstanding as the nickel for this defense.
Ron Heard II
Heard hasn’t played as much as some felt he would because of the rise of Adon Shuler, but the Northwestern transfer was ready when called upon Thursday night. Heard logged 24 snaps on the night and was targetted just twice by Georgia. The other attempt was Georgia’ failed fourth down attempt from the Notre Dame 9-yard line, setting up Notre Dame’s long, clock-draining drive that sealed the victory. The Bulldogs completed only one of those attempts for two yards. Heard also had to fill in for Xavier Watts briefly after Watts’s shoe/injury momentarily forced him out of the game.
Beaux Collins
Like Jeter, Beaux Collins has had an up-and-down year. He came up huge on the clinching drive against Texas A&M but has also struggled mightily with drops over the season, including in the first-round win over Indiana. Collins came up big against the SEC again, though, with a second-quarter touchdown that gave the Irish a 13-3 following the strip sack by Oben.
In the span of two plays, Duke transfer RJ Oben forced a fumble that Notre Dame recovered, and then fellow Duke transfer Riley Leonard connected with Clemson transfer Beaux Collins for an Irish score on the first play of the ensuing Irish drive. A little over 30 seconds of game time later, Marshall transfer Jayden Harrison had his kick return touchdown, making it 20-3. It was portal perfection.
