When Notre Dame begins the second semester of its 2020-21 academic year on Feb. 3, our count has 89 football players on scholarship, including the 26 recruits who signed in December (with 14 who could potentially enroll this February).
There is no shortage of numbers at any position group, with 42 scholarship players on offense, 43 on defense (thanks to senior safety Houston Griffith’s return from the transfer portal) and four specialists.
By 2022, the number is supposed to get back to 85, so roster management and balance will be carefully monitored.
Below is the overview at linebacker, and class year is defined by their academic year when the fall semester begins in August 2021.
Linebacker (11 Scholarship Players)
5th-Year Seniors — Drew White (6-0, 227) and Isaiah Pryor (6-1½, 204)
Middle linebacker White’s 145 career tackles (17 for loss) are the most among any returning member on the roster. All-American safety Kyle Hamilton is next with 104.
Pryor arrived last year as an Ohio State graduate transfer safety, but was moved to rover and became the backup for unanimous All-American/Butkus Award winner Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. Pryor also was a mainstay on all four special teams units.