George Takacs won't play a fifth season at Notre Dame after all.
The senior tight end announced Monday on Twitter that he will enter the NCAA's transfer portal as a graduate transfer. A little more than a month ago, Takacs indicated he would be returning to Notre Dame in an Instagram post that has since been deleted.
If Takacs stayed at Notre Dame, he would have remained in a backup role behind junior-to-be Michael Mayer, who led the Irish with 71 receptions last season. The 6-foot-6, 247-pound Takacs caught eight passes for 78 yards and two touchdowns in the three seasons he saw the field at Notre Dame.
Takacs rotated onto the field plenty in the 2021 season when the Irish utilized more than one tight end in a formation. Takac's 407 snaps were 12th-most on Notre Dame's offense, according to Pro Football Focus. But Takas was unlikely to transcend the complementary role he played in 28 of his 29 games at Notre Dame.
Takacs started as the lone tight end just once in his Notre Dame career. With Mayer sidelined with an injury, Takacs started at Virginia Tech last season and caught a 15-yard pass.
Younger competition at the position would have pushed Takacs for playing time in 2022. Junior-to-be Kevin Bauman, a former four-star recruit, will once again have a chance to make an impact. Bauman's 2021 season was sidetracked by a broken fibula suffered in the season opener at Florida State.
Mitchell Evans and Cane Berrong both played as freshmen last season. Berrong played in only four games, which preserved a season of eligibility, before tearing his ACL. Evans played in all 13 games and caught two passes for 21 yards.
A pair of four-star recruits will join Notre Dame's roster in June: Eli Raridon and Holden Staes. Both were ranked among the top eight tight ends in the 2022 class.
All six of the scholarship tight ends projected for Notre Dame's 2022 roster will be starting with a clean slate with the introduction of new tight ends coach Gerad Parker, who has not yet been officially announced in the role. Parker was selected to replace tight ends coach John McNulty, who spent two seasons with the Irish before being hired as Boston College's offensive coordinator last week.
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