Notre Dame is bringing in some transfer portal help to aid its 2021 offensive line retooling project.
Cain Madden, a three-year starting guard at Marshall, announced Friday he will play his final college football season with the Fighting Irish. The 2020 Associated Press second-team All-American started 31 career games for the Thundering Herd and will be a sixth-year senior in 2021. He is using the NCAA’s COVID-19 blanket waiver that gave all 2020 fall sport athletes an extra season of eligibility and will play this season at 24 years old.
Madden’s 2020 season was his best one. In addition to the AP recognition, Pro Football Focus named him a first-team All-American at right guard and gave him a 93.0 run-blocking grade in 2020. That mark was nearly five points higher than any other Football Bowl Subdivision guard. He allowed no sacks, no hits and just six quarterback pressures in nine games.
All but eight of Madden’s 2,139 career snaps have come at right guard. The 6-3, 313-pound lineman nicknamed “Dump Truck” broke into the starting lineup early in the 2018 season due to an injury to a teammate and didn’t leave it until announcing his transfer. In his time as a starter, he has allowed two sacks and 23 total pressures. He initially came to Marshall in 2016 as a walk-on out of Minford (Ohio) High School.
Madden announced his decision at the end of his official visit to Notre Dame. He had previously visited Florida State. He entered the transfer portal May 19.
After a 2020 season in which it was a Joe Moore Award finalist, Notre Dame’s offensive line is breaking in four new starters. The Fighting Irish’s 12 scholarship linemen for 2021 have a combined 31 starts, matching Madden’s own total.
In spring practice, Notre Dame gave freshmen Blake Fisher and Rocco Spindler significant first-team reps. Both exited the spring as strong contenders to start. Even just one of them starting would be a departure from the norm. Notre Dame has given just five starts to freshmen offensive linemen in the Brian Kelly era — four to Steve Elmer in 2013 and one to Robert Hainsey in 2017, though Hainsey played nearly 500 snaps that year.
Madden gives Notre Dame another option if it’s not comfortable with so much inexperience. Spindler, junior Andrew Kristofic, junior Quinn Carroll and senior John Dirksen will be his competition. It’s also possible Notre Dame uses 2019-20 center Jarrett Patterson at one of the guard spots. With 21 career starts, Patterson is the most experienced returning lineman, but his spot has not yet been solidified.
Notre Dame has 87 scholarship players for 2021 after adding Madden, its maximum allowable number for this season. That number is higher than the typical 85-man cap because of the COVID-19 extra year of eligibility waiver. Any 2020 senior who chooses to use that free season and return to his team does not count against the cap. Notre Dame had two such players exercise that option: nose tackle Kurt Hinish and kicker Jonathan Doerer.
Madden is the second graduate transfer Notre Dame has brought in this offseason, joining former Wisconsin quarterback Jack Coan. The Athletic’s Transfer Portal Top 50 ranks Coan as the seventh-best transfer of this offseason and has Madden at No. 11.
Madden is the first graduate transfer to come to Notre Dame from a Group of Five school during the Brian Kelly era.
----
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, Blue & Gold Illustrated.
• Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
• Sign up for Blue & Gold's news alerts and daily newsletter.
• Subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts.
• Follow us on Twitter: @BGINews, @BGI_LouSomogyi, @Rivals_Singer, @PatrickEngel_ and @ToddBurlage.
• Like us on Facebook.
