The first day of the spring transfer portal window brought a somewhat surprising entry for Notre Dame football.
Starting punter Bryce McFerson, who will enter his junior season in the fall, announced Tuesday afternoon he was entering the transfer portal. McFerson never seemed in jeopardy of losing his starting spot during Notre Dame's spring practices, which will conclude with Saturday's Blue-Gold Game in Notre Dame Stadium (1 p.m. EDT on Peacock).
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McFerson averaged 45.1 yards per punt on 38 attempts last season with 13 reaching 50-plus yards. He didn't meet the NCAA minimum of 3.6 punts per game needed to qualify in the NCAA's official statistical rankings. His average would have been tied for 18th in the FBS if he met the threshold.
In addition to punting, McFerson became Notre Dame's primary holder early last season. He held for extra points and field goals for Spencer Shrader last season and was in line to do the same for Mitch Jeter, a graduate transfer from South Carolina, this fall.
The 6-foot-2, 194-pound McFerson did not appear in a game as a freshman in 2022 after suffering a groin injury. McFerson lost the punting competition to Jon Sot that year, but he was in line to be ND's kickoff specialist prior to the injury ahead of the season opener.
McFerson's starting role was assumed to be so solid that when special teams coordinator Marty Biagi met with reporters in late March, he was only asked about McFerson in the context of his ability to handle kickoffs in addition to punts.
"We want him to really focus on being the most consistent," Biagi said of McFerson. "He definitely has the capability of kicking off, but we want him to really specialize and show this spring he can be that punter and show consistency and really feel like he’s going to be able to perform when needed. We’ll see how the summer goes, once he shows that he’s consistent in the first role then maybe go to the secondary role for him."
Notre Dame needs to improve its net punting average of 38.03 from last season, which ranked No. 83 in the FBS. Doing so without McFerson could be a challenge.
Notre Dame only has one other player on its roster with collegiate punting experience: Army veteran Eric Goins, who joined the team earlier this year after an eight-year hiatus from college football. After spending four seasons with The Citadel (2012-15), Goins enlisted in the U.S. Army. He served as an infantry officer for four years and a signal corps officer for three.
Goins enrolled in the Master of Business Administration (MBA) program at Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business in August after the Irish football program started its preseason practices for the 2023 season. That allowed Goins to join the team in 2024 for his final season of eligibility at 30 years old. The walk-on still had one season remaining because he redshirted as a freshman in 2012.
Goins was used more as a kicker than a punter during his The Citadel career. In his lone season as the starting punter in 2013, he averaged 40.3 yards per punt with five of 50-plus yards on 43 attempts. He punted six times in 2014 with an average of 34 yards.
Goins has been working behind McFerson as a punter this spring. So has walk-on Chris Salerno, a senior-to-be who hasn't seen game action in three seasons with the program. Salerno is the younger brother of former Notre Dame wide receiver Matt Salerno.
Walk-on Dylan Devezin, a quarterback-turned-running back entering his junior season, was previously Notre Dame's starting holder at the beginning of last season prior to be replaced by McFerson.
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