Notre Dame loses its fifth defensive back this cycle to the transfer portal.
On Saturday it was reported that Notre Dame defensive back, Karson Hobbs, will enter the transfer portal.
Hobbs had a rough start to the Notre Dame football season in 2025. While no single player can be blamed for either of Notre Dame’s two losses in 2025, Karson Hobbs’s dropped interception late against Texas A&M is a moment that will haunt Notre Dame fans for quiote some time. While it was similar to DJ Brown’s dropped interception against Ohio State in 2023 that would have won the game for the Irish, Brown was a fifth year senior.
Hobbs did improve over the course of the season, but it was in limited playing time as Dallas Golden replaced him on the depth chart at nickel behind DeVonta Smith.
Good luck to Hobbs wherever he may land.
Of Notre Dame’s 8 transfer portal departures (so far) 5 of them are defensive backs. Notre Dame is still lined up to return an incredible secondary of Leonard Moore, Christian Gray, Adon Shuler, and Tae Johnson next season along with guys like Luke Talich, Dallas Golden, and Mark Zachery. The Irish have almost annually dipped into the portal to pull out a nickel every year — and I expect them to do so once again this time around.
| Player/Class | Freshmen | Sophomore | Junior | Senior | Graduate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterback | Noah Grubbs, Teddy Jarrard | Blake Hebert | C.J. Carr | – | ` |
| Running Back | Javian Osborne, Jonaz Walton | Nolan James | Aneyas Williams, Kedren Young | – | – |
| Tight End | Preston Fryzel, Ian Premer | James Flanigan | Jack Larsen | Cooper Flanagan | – |
| Wide Receiver | Dylan Faison, Bubba Frazier, Kaydon Finley, Devin Fitzgerald, Brayden Robinson | Elijah Burress, Jerome Bettis Jr., Antavious Richardson | Cam Williams, Micah Gilbert, Logan Saldate | Jaden Greathouse, KK Smith, Jordan Faison | – |
| Center | – | Cameron Herron | – | Joe Otting | Ashton Craig |
| Guard | Sullivan Garvin, Tyler Merrill, Gregory Patrick | – | – | Chris Terek, Sullivan Absher | – |
| Tackle | Ben Nichols, Grayson McKeogh, Charlie Thom | Will Black, Owen Strebig, Matty Augustine | Peter Jones, Anthonie Knapp, Styles Prescod, Guerby Lambert | Charles Jagusah | – |
| Defensive Tackle | Tiki Hola, Elijah Golden | Joseph Reiff, Davion Dixon | Sean Sevillano | Brenan Vernon, Devan Houstan, Armel Mukam | Donovan Hinish, Elijah Hughes |
| Defensive End | Ebenezer Ewetade, Rodney Dunham | Christopher Burgess, Gordy Sulfsted | Cole Mullins, Bryce Young, Loghan Thomas | Boubacar Traore | Joshua Burnham, Junior Tuihalamaka |
| Linebacker | Thomas Davis Jr., Kobe Clapper | Dominik Hulak, Ko’o Kia, Anthony Sacca, Madden Faraimo | Teddy Rezac, Bodie Kahoun, Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa | Drayk Bowen, Preston Zinter, Jaiden Ausberry | Jaylen Sneed |
| Safety | Ayden Pouncey, Joey O’Brien, Nick Reddish | Ethan Long, Brandon Logan | Brauntae Johnson | Adon Shuler, Luke Talich | – |
| Cornerback | Chaston Smith, Khary Adams | Cree Thomas, Dallas Golden, Mark Zachery | Leonard Moore | Christian Gray | – |
| Specialists | Jasper Scaife | Erik Schmidt | – | – | – |
| Totals | 29/105 (29) | 53/105 (24) | 73/105 (20) | 91/105 (18) | 97/105 (6) |
Category: General Sports
